The Grayson School provides gifted children a challenging, research-based education worthy of their intellect and their intrinsic desire to learn and think deeply. We serve as a valued resource for the gifted education community in philadelphia and nationwide.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
85¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 35 volunteers and 80 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
4 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $152K a year · 2% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
85%
of spending
Looks good: 85% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$829K
to officers and key staff · 9% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 9% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
3 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 2.9 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
5
named funders · $717K
Looks good: 5 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$3.7M
83% of total assets
Concern: liabilities are 83% of assets; over 80%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
13
of 15 voting members
Looks good: 13 of 15 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$8.5M
-0.2% vs prior year
Spent
$8.8M
To programs
85%
Net assets
$783K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$8.5M
FY2025-0.2%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$4.4M
FY2021$5.5M
FY2022$7.4M
FY2023$8.1M
FY2024$8.5M
FY2025$8.5M
Expenses
$8.8M
FY2025▼ -4%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$4.0M
FY2021$5.2M
FY2022$6.2M
FY2023$8.0M
FY2024$9.2M
FY2025$8.8M
Net assets
$783K
FY2025▼ -30%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$252K
FY2021$578K
FY2022$1.8M
FY2023$1.8M
FY2024$1.1M
FY2025$783K

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending June 2025) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 2013.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

85 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 85% · $7.5M Management & general 11% · $990K Fundraising 3% · $305K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

18 people listed on the 990; $829K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
Head of School
$239,521Pt VII · Sec A
Head of Advancement
$169,258Pt VII · Sec A
Head of Middle and Upper School
$154,137Pt VII · Sec A
$143,221Pt VII · Sec A
Head of Lower School
$122,675Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Melissa Bilash’s $240K as Head of School is at the 90th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3395 $1–10M education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 6 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Melissa Bilash$239,521$237,270$205,346$171,500$141,867$116,000
Amy Stoios$169,258—————
Merideth Hafer$154,137—————
Jennifer Nance ESQ$143,221$153,950————
Jennifer Nance Jd——$137,703$33,946—$3,170
Kimberly Doherty$122,675—————

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

See The Grayson School executive salaries →

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Educates gifted children with challenging, research-based learning opportunities.

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1 program · $7.5M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

The grayson school provides gifted children a challenging, research-based education worthy of their intellect and their intrinsic desire to learn and think deeply. We serve as a valued resource for the gifted education community in philadelphia and nationwide.

$7.5Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
See all 5 funders →
Grants paid · 3 grants · $4.2M · 2020–2023
Unitemized GrantFY2023$1,700,536
Unitemized GrantFY2022$1,379,939
Unitemized GrantFY2020$1,092,496

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$8.5M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$6.6M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.6M
Investment incomeLn 3$266K
Money outPt IX
$8.8M
Ln 25
Programscol B$7.5M
Managementcol C$990K
Fundraisingcol D$305K
Owns and owesPt X
$783K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$2.1M
Total assetsLn 16$4.5M
LiabilitiesLn 26$3.7M
PeoplePt VI, VII
18
listed · VII A
PaidVII A5
Voting boardVI 1a15
IndependentVI 1b13
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.6M
Government grantsLn 1e$300K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$159K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$6.6M
Investment incomeLn 3$266K
Other incomeLn 4–11$28K
Total revenueLn 12$8.5M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$2.1M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$2.1M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$678K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$158K
Other assetsLn 15$898K
Total assetsLn 16$4.5M
LiabilitiesLn 26$3.7M
Net assetsLn 32$783K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 580
VolunteersI 635
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$998K$2.1M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$644K$678K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$103K$158K
Total assetsLn 16$4.9M$4.5M
LiabilitiesLn 26$3.8M$3.7M
Net assetsLn 32$1.1M$783K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$1.5M$1.5M
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$429K$213K$81K$134K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$4.0M$3.6M$399K$20K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$79K$59K$20K$608
Other employee benefitsLn 9$563K$527K$27K$9K
Payroll taxesLn 10$323K$280K$32K$11K
Legal feesLn 11b$1K$1K
Accounting feesLn 11c$30K$30K
Investment management feesLn 11f$6K$6K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$133K$16K$117K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$20K$13K$5K$2K
Office expensesLn 13$57K$21K$36K
Information technologyLn 14$120K$9K$111K
OccupancyLn 16$874K$772K$98K$4K
TravelLn 17$198$198
InterestLn 20$22K$19K$2K$92
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$46K$41K$5K$193
InsuranceLn 23$62K$40K$17K$6K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$360K$345K$15K$544
All other expensesLn 24e$123K$33K$88K$2K
Total functional expensesLn 25$8.8M$7.5M$990K$305K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $8.5M$8.8M−$329K$783K 990 PDF
FY2024 $8.5M$9.2M−$707K$1.1M 990 PDF
FY2023 $8.1M$8.0M$56K$1.8M 990 PDF
FY2022 $7.4M$6.2M$1.2M$1.8M 990 PDF
FY2021 $5.5M$5.2M$326K$578K 990 PDF
FY2020 $4.4M$4.0M$393K$252K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $8,454,246 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $1,917,115$1,575,387
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $6,541,959$6,585,094
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $52,442$266,242
I-11 Other revenuePrior year −$38,153$27,523
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $8,473,363$8,454,246
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $1,700,536$1,533,100
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $5,582,191$5,395,318
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $1,897,181$1,854,647
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $9,179,908$8,783,065
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$706,545−$328,819
Part VI · Governance 13 of 15 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body15
VI-1b Independent voting members13
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $8,454,246 across 9 lines filed
VIII-1c Fundraising events$158,533
VIII-1e Government grants$300,000
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$1,116,854
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,575,387
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $6,585,094$6,585,094
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $266,242$266,242
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$32,169−$32,169
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $59,692$59,692
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $6,585,094 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $293,765$8,454,246
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $8,783,065 across 20 lines filed
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $1,533,100$1,533,100
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $213,319 · Management $80,874 · Fundraising $134,436$428,629
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $3,583,426 · Management $399,026 · Fundraising $19,577$4,002,029
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $58,616 · Management $19,653 · Fundraising $608$78,877
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $526,553 · Management $27,414 · Fundraising $8,710$562,677
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $280,167 · Management $31,769 · Fundraising $11,170$323,106
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $1,290$1,290
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $30,000$30,000
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $5,844$5,844
IX-11g Other fees for servicesManagement $16,000 · Fundraising $117,183$133,183
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $12,697 · Management $5,356 · Fundraising $1,786$19,839
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $20,535 · Management $36,023$56,558
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $9,443 · Management $110,676$120,119
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $772,298 · Management $98,362 · Fundraising $3,672$874,332
IX-17 TravelManagement $198$198
IX-20 InterestPrograms $19,397 · Management $2,471 · Fundraising $92$21,960
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $40,565 · Management $5,166 · Fundraising $193$45,924
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $39,758 · Management $16,773 · Fundraising $5,591$62,122
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $345,279 · Management $14,573 · Fundraising $544$360,396
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $33,073 · Management $88,185 · Fundraising $1,624$122,882
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $7,488,226 · Management $989,653 · Fundraising $305,186$8,783,065
Part X · Balance sheet $4,510,911 assets, 17 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $998,270$2,141,975
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $273,000$323,000
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $894,654$61,646
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $174,885$250,263
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $103,056$158,121
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $644,331$677,641
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $1,781,547$898,265
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $4,869,743$4,510,911
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $685,454$684,358
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $835,818$1,839,930
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $480,401$469,325
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $1,604,297$733,965
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $3,755,970$3,727,578
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year −$388,408−$475,505
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $1,502,181$1,258,838
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $1,113,773$783,333
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $4,869,743$4,510,911
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $783,333 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$8,454,246
XI-2 Total expenses$8,783,065
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$328,819
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$1,113,773
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments−$1,621
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$783,333

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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