To assist participating school Districts to work together to innovate, implement and scale new strategies and tools to help students succeed and meet the challenges of the 21st century.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
86¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX

Before you give

FY2021 · 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 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $61K a year · under 1% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
86%
of spending
Looks good: 86% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
10 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 10.5 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $1.7M
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$797K
10% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 10% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
8
of 8 voting members
Looks good: 8 of 8 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$8.9M
+13% vs prior year
Spent
$6.9M
To programs
86%
Net assets
$7.4M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$8.9M
FY2021▲ +13%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$7.9M
FY2021$8.9M
FY2022$5.7M
FY2023$5.8M
FY2024$7.2M
FY2025$8.1M
Expenses
$6.9M
FY2021▼ -16%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$8.2M
FY2021$6.9M
FY2022$7.0M
FY2023$6.8M
FY2024$6.8M
FY2025$7.4M
Net assets
$7.4M
FY2021▲ +37%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$5.4M
FY2021$7.4M
FY2022$6.1M
FY2023$5.1M
FY2024$5.4M
FY2025$6.1M

From the FY2021 Form 990 (year ending June 2021) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 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 Apr 2015.

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

Where the money goes

86 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 86% · $5.9M Management & general 13% · $928K Fundraising 1% · $53K

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

9 people listed on the 990.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Michelle Steagall’s $242K as Executive Director, Core Capability Building Prog. is at the 90th 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023
Michelle Steagall$242,066$229,661$229,661
David Montes De Oca$232,351$222,879$222,879
Brigitte Marshall$179,199$167,735$167,735
David Calhoun$129,342$164,759$164,759
Latoya Bufford$136,851$116,396$116,396
Brenda Escoriza Paredes$132,380——
Samuel Milder$125,451$120,113$120,113
Gina Pascaul—$125,202$125,202

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 Core Districts 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 15aYes

Programs and updates

Improves student achievement by fostering collaboration and learning among California school districts.

Questions for Core Districts

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Your first name shows with your question. Core Districts answers here, for everyone.

Provided by the organization

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2 programs · $5.9M · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Improvement Networks

Capability building programs is a program that offers several opportunities for educators to learn and develop skills in continuous improvement to tackle specific problems of practice on their local contexts.

$3.5Mprogram expense
02

Data Analytics

School quality improvement systems is a program developed to refine the calculation at the heart of core's multiple measures accountability system as well as building capacity for systemic SUCCESS.THE ed-fi improvement collaborative is a community of 7 county offices of education and 8 school districts seeking to seamlessly and securely…

$2.4Mprogram 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 · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$1.7M
Grants paid · 47 grants · $1.6M · 2020–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$346,956
Unitemized GrantFY2023$302,115
Unitemized GrantFY2022$301,125
Various Organizations Under 5kFY2022$26,250
Individual RecipientFY2022$12,000
Unitemized GrantFY2021$311,630
Various Organizations Under 5kFY2021$9,732
Van Nuys High SchoolFY2021$6,000
Sunnyside High SchoolFY2021$6,000
Roosevelt High SchoolFY2021$6,000
Richard Browning High SchoolFY2021$6,000
McLane High SchoolFY2021$6,000
Lincoln High SchoolFY2021$6,000
Lakewood High SchoolFY2021$6,000
Grossmont Union High SchoolFY2021$6,000
Fremont High SchoolFY2021$6,000
El Diamante High SchoolFY2021$6,000
Duncan High SchoolFY2021$6,000
See all 47 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$8.9M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$5.9M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$2.9M
Investment incomeLn 3$13K
Money outPt IX
$6.9M
Ln 25
Programscol B$5.9M
Managementcol C$928K
Fundraisingcol D$53K
Owns and owesPt X
$7.4M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$6.0M
Total assetsLn 16$8.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$797K
PeoplePt VI, VII
9
listed · VII A
PaidVII A0
Voting boardVI 1a8
IndependentVI 1b8
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$5.9M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$2.9M
Investment incomeLn 3$13K
Total revenueLn 12$8.9M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$428K
SavingsLn 2$5.6M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$6.0M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$202K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1.5M
Total assetsLn 16$8.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$797K
Net assetsLn 32$7.4M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 518
VolunteersI 610
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$4.3M$6.0M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$202K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1.5M$1.5M
Total assetsLn 16$6.2M$8.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$851K$797K
Net assetsLn 32$5.4M$7.4M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$255K$255K
Management feesLn 11a$3.7M$2.9M$730K$53K
Accounting feesLn 11c$65K$65K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$2.5M$2.5M$50K
Office expensesLn 13$57K$45K$11K
Information technologyLn 14$26K$21K$5K
OccupancyLn 16$60K$9K$51K
TravelLn 17$260$260
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$115K$115K$352
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$10K$8K$2K
InsuranceLn 23$21K$17K$4K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$43K$34K$9K
Total functional expensesLn 25$6.9M$5.9M$928K$53K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $8.1M$7.4M$668K$6.1M 990 PDF
FY2024 $7.2M$6.8M$386K$5.4M 990 PDF
FY2023 $5.8M$6.8M−$1.0M$5.1M 990 PDF
FY2022 $5.7M$7.0M−$1.3M$6.1M 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $8.9M$6.9M$2.0M$7.4M 990 PDF
FY2020 $7.9M$8.2M−$360K$5.4M 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 FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $8,890,362 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $5,183,277$5,930,217
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $2,654,995$2,947,194
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $40,340$12,951
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $0$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $7,878,612$8,890,362
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $45,700$254,750
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $0$0
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $8,193,017$6,647,136
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $8,238,717$6,901,886
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$360,105$1,988,476
Part VI · Governance 8 of 8 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body8
VI-1b Independent voting members8
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $8,890,362 across 5 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$5,930,217
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$5,930,217
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $2,947,194$2,947,194
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $12,951$12,951
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $2,947,194 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $12,951$8,890,362
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $6,901,886 across 12 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $254,750$254,750
IX-11a Management feesPrograms $2,930,944 · Management $729,986 · Fundraising $52,764$3,713,694
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $65,336$65,336
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $2,486,403 · Management $50,000$2,536,403
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $45,235 · Management $11,309$56,544
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $20,651 · Management $5,163$25,814
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $8,971 · Management $50,836$59,807
IX-17 TravelManagement $260$260
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $115,130 · Management $352$115,482
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $7,922 · Management $1,980$9,902
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $16,916 · Management $4,229$21,145
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $34,199 · Management $8,550$42,749
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $5,921,121 · Management $928,001 · Fundraising $52,764$6,901,886
Part X · Balance sheet $8,164,415 assets, 15 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $448,634$428,106
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $3,821,741$5,602,231
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $247,000$420,000
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $228,597$18,016
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $17,033$22,553
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $1,467,112$1,471,499
X-12 Other securities$202,010
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $6,230,117$8,164,415
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $801,611$797,137
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $49,704$0
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $851,315$797,137
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $1,828,713$2,895,777
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $3,550,089$4,471,501
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $5,378,802$7,367,278
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $6,230,117$8,164,415
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $7,367,278 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$8,890,362
XI-2 Total expenses$6,901,886
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$1,988,476
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$5,378,802
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$7,367,278

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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