Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 1996.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
94 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
22 people listed on the 990; $422K paid to officers and key staff.
Gayle Headen’s $156K as Executive Director is at the 18th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3683 $10–100M 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 · 7 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gayle Headon | — | $172,449 | $133,966 | $131,037 | $125,297 |
| Gayle Headen | $155,915 | — | — | — | — |
| Gary Carr | $151,239 | $149,291 | $121,111 | $116,957 | $117,325 |
| Anna Troutman | — | — | — | — | $121,470 |
| Carol C Orji | $115,142 | $105,171 | — | — | — |
| Angie Welsh | — | — | $50,550 | $100,931 | $100,448 |
| Sherry Heuser | — | — | $8,350 | $7,850 | — |
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
Provides early education and developmental support to children under five to ensure they are prepared for success in pre-K and kindergarten.
Questions for Wake County Smart Start INC
Your first name shows with your question. Wake County Smart Start INC answers here, for everyone.
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NC pre-kindergarten programthe NC pre-kindergarten program is designed to provide high-quality educational experiences to enhance school readiness for eligible four-year-olds. Children in pre-k attend a full school day in a school-year program.
Wake threeschoolthis program provides early education to young children in a play-based, dynamic environment, like the nationally recognized NC pre-k program. Research shows that when three-year-old children receive support for learning early, they learn better, gain stronger skills, and are better prepared for success in pre-k and…
Family SUPPORT/HEALTH and safetywake county smart start funds family support, and health and safety activities that benefit families and children in wake county. Family support provides parenting skills training, ongoing parent education, family literacy initiatives, transportation, community outreach, and family navigation.
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 | $3.9M | $4.4M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $4.0M | $4.4M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $401K | $200K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $3.6M | $4.2M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $21.8M | $21.8M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $367K | $264K | $97K | $6K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $2.6M | $1.8M | $685K | $47K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $340K | $261K | $79K | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $371K | $296K | $72K | $2K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $224K | $160K | $59K | $4K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $4K | $4K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $11K | $11K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $727K | $453K | $255K | $18K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $11K | $7K | $4K | $293 |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $74K | $54K | $20K | $663 |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $253K | $187K | $64K | $3K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $238K | $163K | $63K | $12K |
| TravelLn 17 | $44K | $37K | $7K | |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $83K | $72K | $11K | $100 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $28K | $116 | $28K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $150K | $15K | $135K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $9K | $5K | $3K | $442 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $27.2M | $25.6M | $1.6M | $94K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $27.9M | $27.2M | $666K | $4.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $25.1M | $25.0M | $74K | $3.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $22.9M | $22.4M | $484K | $3.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $19.7M | $19.3M | $401K | $3.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $20.1M | $19.6M | $490K | $2.6M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $27,914,896 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 16 of 17 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $27,914,896 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $27,249,271 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $4,446,723 assets, 11 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $4,246,811 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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