Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Apr 2016.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
76 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
7 people listed on the 990; $175K paid to officers and key staff.
Karyn Ewart’s $105K as Board Member & Head of School is at the 35th 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karyn Ewart | $104,545 | $101,500 | $87,506 | $55,614 |
| Julia Diefenderfer | $75,508 | $73,308 | $68,261 | — |
| Michelle Branco | — | — | — | $60,342 |
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
Inspires passion for learning, self-discovery, and community connection through personalized education.
Questions for Sycamore School
Your first name shows with your question. Sycamore School answers here, for everyone.
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The exempt purpose of this organization is to provide education and academic development through personalized, self-paced, and inquiry-based experimental learning.
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 | $893K | $684K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $26K | $34K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.1M | $886K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $681K | $574K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $410K | $312K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $177K | $30K | $148K | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.1M | $984K | $153K | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $54K | $46K | $7K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $96K | $78K | $18K | |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $12K | $12K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $7K | $7K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $14K | $9K | $5K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $73K | $73K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $19K | $19K | ||
| Information technologyLn 14 | $59K | $59K | ||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $288K | $276K | $12K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $13K | $11K | $3K | |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $2K | $2K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $11K | $11K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $19K | $19K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $126K | $116K | $10K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $34K | $14K | $20K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $2.1M | $1.6M | $506K | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $1.9M | $2.0M | −$123K | $189K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 Viewing | $2.0M | $2.1M | −$97K | $312K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $2.0M | $2.0M | $68K | $410K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | Not on file | ||||
| FY2021 | $1.5M | $1.5M | $77K | $233K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,043,544 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 5 of 7 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,043,544 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,140,841 across 17 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $885,521 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $311,867 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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