Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Aug 2014.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
86 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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
15 people listed on the 990; $3.8M paid to officers and key staff.
Hugh Gourgeon’s $444K as President is at the 30th percentile of top reported officer pay among 674 $100M+ 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh Gourgeon | $443,970 | $437,421 | $436,562 | $362,350 |
| Tatiana Harper | $431,918 | $425,146 | $418,439 | $337,968 |
| Matthew Cooper | $411,199 | $401,179 | $372,598 | $325,258 |
| Craig Buccellato | $316,161 | $254,526 | $194,850 | — |
| Richard Bobowski | $284,234 | $262,890 | $259,752 | $248,874 |
| Dave Walton | $282,845 | $248,308 | $232,674 | $219,146 |
| Dave Mounteer | $279,770 | $267,990 | $251,237 | $215,793 |
| Aaron Schiffner | $270,002 | $251,631 | $246,056 | $200,834 |
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 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Operates schools for preschool through eighth grade, promoting educational objectives.
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During the 2023-2024 school year, challenger educated approximately 5,298 students in its kindergarten and elementary school programs. On the most recent iowa assessments, challenger's average kindergartener outscored 98 of 100 test takers at HIS/HER grade level, with similar results for students in grades 1 through 5.
During the 2023-2024 school year, challenger educated approximately 3,451 students in its 3 and 4 year old preschool programs. Children graduating from challenger's preschool programs are prepared to enter kindergarten with a head start that places them one or two years ahead of their peers.
During the 2023-2024 school year, challenger educated approximately 1,003 students in its middle school grades. On the most recent iowa assessments, challenger's average eighth grader outscored 99 of 100 test takers at HIS/HER grade level, with similar results for students in grades 6 and 7.
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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 | $161.9M | $183.2M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $131.6M | $163.4M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $237.1M | $245.1M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $646.9M | $705.0M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $120.1M | $110.9M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $526.8M | $594.1M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $911K | $911K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $2.7M | $971K | $1.7M | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $81.8M | $73.6M | $8.2M | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $5.1M | $4.5M | $601K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $5.2M | $4.6M | $618K | |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $59K | $36K | $23K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $101K | $62K | $39K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $3.2M | $3.2M | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $685K | $228K | $458K | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $4.0M | $156K | $3.9M | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $15.5M | $13.4M | $2.1M | |
| TravelLn 17 | $170K | $84K | $86K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $4.6M | $4.6M | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $708K | $660K | $48K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $9.9M | $8.7M | $1.2M | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $1.9M | $1.4M | $441K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $136.7M | $117.2M | $19.4M | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $209.9M | $148.9M | $61.0M | $665.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 Viewing | $192.1M | $136.7M | $55.5M | $594.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $180.5M | $124.6M | $56.0M | $526.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | Not on file | ||||
| FY2021 | $110.0M | $99.6M | $10.4M | $433.3M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $192,136,005 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $136,675,852 across 16 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $704,958,051 assets, 16 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $594,102,486 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
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