Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Feb 2016.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
44 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
14 people listed on the 990; $76K paid to officers and key staff.
Kandace R Lavender’s $83K as Executive Di is at the 74th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1613 $100K–1M 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
| Name | FY2024 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kandace R Lavender | $83,250 | $75,500 | $53,846 | $34,618 | — | — |
| Nicole Poer | — | — | — | — | $43,632 | $40,392 |
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 15aNo
Programs and updates
Cultivates youth voices by fostering reading and writing skills through joy and creativity.
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Creative writing and literacy programming for youth in preschool through 12TH grade done in school, out of school, and via field trips to read and write kalamazoo's literacy center.
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 | $252K | $411K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $72K | $69K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $2.0M | $1.9M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $85K | $87K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $1.9M | $1.8M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $83K | $30K | $38K | $15K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $364K | $161K | $203K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $36K | $36K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $500 | $500 | ||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $4K | $4K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $8K | $244 | $8K | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $14K | $9K | $5K | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $28K | $28K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $4K | $4K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $16K | $16K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $89K | $83K | $6K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $1K | $1K | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $647K | $283K | $344K | $19K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Viewing | $481K | $647K | −$166K | $1.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $1.6M | $382K | $1.2M | $1.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $333K | $231K | $102K | $436K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $327K | $184K | $143K | $334K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $262K | $180K | $82K | $192K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $481,189 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $646,778 across 12 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $1,863,362 assets, 12 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,776,855 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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