Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jan 2015.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
84 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
10 people listed on the 990.
Edmund Knighton’s $168K as President is at the 73rd 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edmund Knighton | $168,470 | $159,650 | $148,542 |
| Dainna McArthur | — | — | $129,337 |
| Yana Matyuk | — | $80,412 | — |
| Katie Poplawski | $45,833 | — | — |
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
Educates and develops life skills for young adults on the autism spectrum.
Questions for Meristem INC
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Instruction
Meristem provides instruction to young adults who are on the autism spectrum or neurodiverse. The curriculum consists of hands-on learning through 10 vocational tracks: woodworking, agriculture, metalwork, health and body care products, landscape maintenance, digital arts and media, culinary arts, hospitality, and textiles.
Independent Living Skills Instruction
The independent living skills program is conducted on an open campus in an integrated community, providing social and living experiences for young adults on the autism spectrum. Independent living program students participate in the day program schedule during the week and enhance their experience by living in dorms on campus, immersing…
Work Skills
Each year roughly 75,000 young americans on the autism spectrum turn 18 and feel unsure how to transition to independent adulthood. Unemployment and underemployment for young adults on the spectrum is estimated at 90% nationwide according to a 2013 report in the journal of the american academy of child and adolescent psychiatry.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $2.6M | $2.2M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $3.0M | $2.8M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $580K | $702K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $7.0M | $6.4M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $598K | $1.4M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $6.4M | $5.0M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $169K | $169K | ||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $4.0M | $3.5M | $288K | $237K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $407K | $354K | $29K | $24K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $662K | $576K | $47K | $39K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $385K | $144K | $141K | $100K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $121K | $39K | $82K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $24K | $6K | $17K | $1K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $162K | $110K | $50K | $2K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $1.2M | $1.1M | $101K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $114K | $95K | $13K | $6K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $72K | $65K | $7K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $127K | $115K | $13K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $335K | $319K | $14K | $2K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $7.8M | $6.6M | $759K | $493K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $6.4M | $7.8M | −$1.4M | $5.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $5.7M | $6.8M | −$1.2M | $6.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $4.3M | $5.6M | −$1.3M | $7.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $9.0M | $5.0M | $4.0M | $8.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $4.5M | $4.5M | $48K | $4.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $5.7M | $5.4M | $255K | $4.3M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $6,407,783 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 10 of 10 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $6,407,783 across 9 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $7,834,090 across 13 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $6,364,900 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $5,003,237 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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