The mission of the Big Sky Discovery Academy School and Community Learning Center is to positively impact lives through educational opportunities and to work with local schools and community partners to enhance and create the best opportunities in any resort town in the nation.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
69¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 60 volunteers and 36 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
3 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $62K a year · 4% of revenue · last 5 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
69%
of spending
Fine: 69% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$84K
to officers and key staff · 6% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 6% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 2.2 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $16K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$0
0% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 0% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
7
of 7 voting members
Looks good: 7 of 7 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$1.3M
-20% vs prior year
Spent
$1.4M
To programs
69%
Net assets
$347K
By yearFY2021–FY2025
Revenue
$1.3M
FY2025▼ -20%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2021$1.6M
FY2022$1.1M
FY2023$1.4M
FY2024$1.6M
FY2025$1.3M
Expenses
$1.4M
FY2025▼ -19%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2021$1.4M
FY2022$1.1M
FY2023$1.1M
FY2024$1.7M
FY2025$1.4M
Net assets
$347K
FY2025▼ -24%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2021$348K
FY2022$356K
FY2023$538K
FY2024$456K
FY2025$347K

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending July 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 Feb 2015.

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

Where the money goes

69 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 69% · $952K Management & general 30% · $411K Fundraising 2% · $22K

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

8 people listed on the 990; $84K 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 Schools
$84,433Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Aaron Poloff’s $84K as Head of Schools is at the 22nd 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023
Scott Poloff—$126,300$105,900
Aaron Poloff$84,433——

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 Big Sky Discovery School INC 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 15aNo

Programs and updates

Provides educational opportunities and community partnerships to enhance resort town life.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $952K · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Accomplishments

BSDA offers a Pre-K Montessori Program serving up to 35 students. Kindergarten through 8th grade school program serving approximately 30 students, and a blended high school curriculum that serves 20 students.

$952Kprogram 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 · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$16K
Grants paid · 1 grant · $159K · 2020–2020
Unitemized GrantFY2020$159,008

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.3M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$840K
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$465K
Investment incomeLn 3$958
Money outPt IX
$1.4M
Ln 25
Programscol B$952K
Managementcol C$411K
Fundraisingcol D$22K
Owns and owesPt X
$347K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$249K
Total assetsLn 16$347K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0
PeoplePt VI, VII
8
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a7
IndependentVI 1b7
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$465K
Government grantsLn 1e$136K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$840K
Investment incomeLn 3$958
Gains on assetsLn 7$0
Total revenueLn 12$1.3M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$81K
SavingsLn 2$168K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$249K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$35K
Other assetsLn 15$1
Total assetsLn 16$347K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0
Net assetsLn 32$347K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 536
VolunteersI 660
Fiscal year endsHeaderJuly
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$355K$249K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$48K$35K
Total assetsLn 16$454K$347K
LiabilitiesLn 26−$2K$0
Net assetsLn 32$456K$347K
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$160K$160K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$615K$615K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$62K−$88$62K
Payroll taxesLn 10$66K$46K$20K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$38K$20K$18K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$8K$2K$6K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$33K$16K$17K
Office expensesLn 13$2K$1K$831
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$186K$133K$54K
TravelLn 17$971$553$418
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$16K$16K
InsuranceLn 23$19K$19K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$115K$84K$8K$22K
All other expensesLn 24e$63K$34K$30K
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.4M$952K$411K$22K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $1.3M$1.4M−$80K$347K 990 PDF
FY2024 $1.6M$1.7M−$82K$456K 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.4M$1.1M$246K$538K 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.1M$1.1M$8K$356K 990 PDF
FY2021 $1.6M$1.4M$216K$348K 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 O · Explanations
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,305,319 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $597,188$464,835
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $1,016,378$839,526
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $16,460$958
I-11 Other revenue$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $1,630,026$1,305,319
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $1,140,917$903,020
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $570,871$481,900
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $1,711,788$1,384,920
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$81,762−$79,601
Part VI · Governance 7 of 7 board members independent, 3 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body7
VI-1b Independent voting members7
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,305,319 across 10 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$135,800
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$329,035
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$464,835
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $839,526$839,526
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $958$958
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 $840,484$1,305,319
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,384,920 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 staffManagement $159,833$159,833
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $615,247$615,247
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms −$88 · Management $62,218$62,130
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $45,810 · Management $20,000$65,810
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $19,575 · Management $18,125$37,700
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $2,058 · Management $5,639$7,697
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $16,399 · Management $16,629$33,028
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $1,464 · Management $831$2,295
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $132,621 · Management $53,719$186,340
IX-17 TravelPrograms $553 · Management $418$971
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 amortizationManagement $16,462$16,462
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $18,861$18,861
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $84,310 · Management $8,495 · Fundraising $22,479$115,284
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $33,689 · Management $29,573$63,262
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $951,638 · Management $410,803 · Fundraising $22,479$1,384,920
Part X · Balance sheet $346,723 assets, 17 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $107,091$80,916
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $247,495$168,452
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$0
X-4 Accounts receivable−$119
X-8 Inventories for sale or use$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $17,300$31,799
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $47,560$34,990
X-11 Publicly traded securities$0
X-12 Other securities$0
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $34,576$30,684
X-15 Other assets$1
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $454,022$346,723
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year −$2,302$0
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $456,324$346,723
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $456,324$346,723
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $454,022$346,723
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $346,723 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,305,319
XI-2 Total expenses$1,384,920
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$79,601
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$456,324
XI-9 Other changes in net assets−$30,000
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$346,723

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

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