Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Mar 2015.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
74 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to fix it
Who runs it and what they're paid
7 people listed on the 990; $177K paid to officers and key staff.
Joanna De Pea’s $97K as CEO is at the 82nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 1613 $100K–1M 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joanna De Pena | — | $91,088 | $103,405 | $72,543 |
| Joanna De Pea | $96,824 | — | — | — |
| Jenny Alvarez | $80,319 | $75,488 | $88,705 | $58,744 |
| Kate Jagger | — | — | $5,250 | — |
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 Top Notch Scholars INC executive salaries →On this list? Claim this org
Something off? Claim to fix it
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 15aNo
Programs and updates
Guides youth to find passions, set career goals, and gain skills through internships and mentors.
Questions for Top Notch Scholars INC
Your first name shows with your question. Top Notch Scholars INC answers here, for everyone.
Know this org? Add your story
Entrepreneurship Academy
The top notch entrepreneurial academy empowers students to think like innovators and problem-solvers through hands-on experience in business operations and management. Students learn the core fundamentals of entrepreneurshipmarketing, sales, cold calling, door knocking, public speaking, and leadershipwhile managing a real venture…
College and Career Academy
This academy helps students explore all post- secondary pathwayscollege, trades, military, entrepreneurship, and more while gaining practical life skills and financial guidance to avoid the debt trap.
Grants, scholarships and awards. The organization makes grants, scholarships and awards to individuals and organizations for projects that are within the scope of the organization mission.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $416K | $302K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $14K | $94K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $533K | $432K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $87K | $98K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $446K | $334K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $9K | $9K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $179K | $133K | $43K | $4K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $127K | $94K | $30K | $3K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $67K | $50K | $16K | $1K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $25 | $19 | $6 | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $28K | $21K | $7K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $258 | $191 | $62 | $5 |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $1K | $1K | $327 | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $45K | $33K | $11K | $931 |
| TravelLn 17 | $10K | $7K | $2K | $196 |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $3K | $2K | $775 | $65 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $11K | $11K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $8K | $6K | $2K | $166 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $66K | $52K | $10K | $4K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $556K | $409K | $134K | $13K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest Viewing | $444K | $556K | −$112K | $334K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $707K | $550K | $157K | $446K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $440K | $342K | $98K | $254K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $287K | $226K | $61K | $157K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $186K | $96K | 990 PDF | ||
| FY2019 | $121K | $64K | 990 PDF |
More to add? Claim this org
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $444,014 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 4 of 4 board members independent, 4 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $444,014 across 9 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $556,156 across 14 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $431,612 assets, 14 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $334,064 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit
Names, privacy, and removal requests More
The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.
Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.
We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.
Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.
If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.
Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.
If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.
Your org? Add context
Made it to the end? Claim this org