To support families and communities in raising kind and empowered youth

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
70¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$137K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2024 · 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 $18K a year · 5% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
70%
of spending
Fine: 70% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$137K
to officers and key staff · 41% of spending
Concern: pay to officers and key staff is 41% of spending; over 30%.
Pt VII · Sec A
4 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 3.7 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $25K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$13K
8% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 8% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
14
of 16 voting members
Looks good: 14 of 16 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$375K
+0.3% vs prior year
Spent
$337K
To programs
70%
Net assets
$161K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$375K
FY2024+0.3%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$238K
FY2021$217K
FY2022$288K
FY2023$374K
FY2024$375K
FY2025$429K
Expenses
$337K
FY2024▲ +17%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$255K
FY2021$272K
FY2022$288K
FY2023$288K
FY2024$337K
FY2025$376K
Net assets
$161K
FY2024▲ +31%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$92K
FY2021$37K
FY2022$37K
FY2023$123K
FY2024$161K
FY2025$214K

From the FY2024 Form 990 (year ending September 2024) · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2024 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 2014.

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

Where the money goes

70 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 70% · $237K Management & general 11% · $37K Fundraising 19% · $64K

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

16 people listed on the 990; $137K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2023); the FY2024 filing did not itemize Part VII
$75,891Pt VII · Sec A
Assoc. Ex. Dir.
$61,148Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Christine Fortune Guthery’s $72K as Exec. Director is at the 64th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1992 $100K–1M youth development 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Christine Fortune Guthery$72,116$75,891$43,834$35,230$35,570$34,375
Michele Marotta$60,960$61,148$56,060$57,640$55,649$40,868

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.

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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

Helps families and communities raise kind, empowered youth.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $237K · in their own filed words · FY2023
01

Spark's Programs and Impacts Include

The resilient community speaking series - spark hosts 20-30 educational speaker events annually, with an average attendance of 250-400 community members per event. All resilient community programs are offered in american sign language and we offer multilingual programming in portuguese and SPANISH.SMALL group programming - workshops…

$237Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$25K

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$375K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$366K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$9K
Investment incomeLn 3$14
Money outPt IX
$337K
Ln 25
Programscol B$237K
Managementcol C$37K
Fundraisingcol D$64K
Owns and owesPt X
$161K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$105K
Total assetsLn 16$174K
LiabilitiesLn 26$13K
PeoplePt VI, VII
16
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a16
IndependentVI 1b14
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$366K
Government grantsLn 1e$19K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$7K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$9K
Investment incomeLn 3$14
Gains on assetsLn 7$0
Total revenueLn 12$375K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$96K
SavingsLn 2$8K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$105K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2K
Other assetsLn 15$0
Total assetsLn 16$174K
LiabilitiesLn 26$13K
Net assetsLn 32$161K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 55
VolunteersI 60
Fiscal year endsHeaderSeptember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$108K$105K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$3K$2K
Total assetsLn 16$146K$174K
LiabilitiesLn 26$23K$13K
Net assetsLn 32$123K$161K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$137K$67K$17K$53K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$90K$81K$6K$3K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$0
Payroll taxesLn 10$20K$13K$2K$5K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$9K$9K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$6K$6K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$11K$11K
Office expensesLn 13$5K$3K$1K
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$0
TravelLn 17$0
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$1K$1K
InsuranceLn 23$3K$1K$1K$391
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$55K$52K$2K
All other expensesLn 24e$776$302$144$330
Total functional expensesLn 25$337K$237K$37K$64K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $429K$376K$53K$214K 990 PDF
FY2024 Viewing $375K$337K$38K$161K 990 PDF
FY2023 $374K$288K$86K$123K 990 PDF
FY2022 $288K$288K$114$37K 990 PDF
FY2021 $217K$272K−$54K$37K 990 PDF
FY2020 $238K$255K−$17K$92K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $375,432 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $343,845$366,106
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $24,170$9,312
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $6,274$14
I-11 Other revenue$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $374,289$375,432
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $203,060$247,069
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $85,419$90,389
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $288,479$337,458
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $85,810$37,974
Part VI · Governance 14 of 16 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body16
VI-1b Independent voting members14
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $375,432 across 11 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$18,700
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$347,406
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$7,150
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$366,106
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $9,312$9,312
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $14$14
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assets$0
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $9,312 · Excluded from tax $14$375,432
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $337,458 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $66,935 · Management $17,499 · Fundraising $52,605$137,039
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $80,804 · Management $5,578 · Fundraising $3,342$89,724
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefits$0
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $13,230 · Management $2,066 · Fundraising $5,010$20,306
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $8,740$8,740
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $6,305$6,305
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $11,321$11,321
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $3,404 · Management $1,363$4,767
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 Occupancy$0
IX-17 Travel$0
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $1,119$1,119
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $1,033 · Management $1,285 · Fundraising $391$2,709
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $52,195 · Fundraising $2,457$54,652
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $302 · Management $144 · Fundraising $330$776
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $236,648 · Management $36,675 · Fundraising $64,135$337,458
Part X · Balance sheet $174,263 assets, 20 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $107,717$96,335
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investments$8,493
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$0
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $34,011$47,594
X-8 Inventories for sale or use$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $1,000$0
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $2,960$1,841
X-11 Publicly traded securities$0
X-12 Other securities$0
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assets$20,000
X-15 Other assets$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $145,688$174,263
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $20,115$11,966
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $2,500$1,250
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $22,615$13,216
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $73,717$105,347
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $49,356$55,700
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $123,073$161,047
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $145,688$174,263
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $161,047 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$375,432
XI-2 Total expenses$337,458
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$37,974
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$123,073
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$161,047

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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