Status and standing
Is it real, and can you give to it?
Where the money goes
What each dollar paid for.
Statement of Functional Expenses
Financial health
Is it on solid ground?
Summary of the Filing
| FY2021 | $2.9M |
|---|---|
| FY2022 | $3.4M |
| FY2023 | $4.3M |
| FY2024 | $4.0M |
| FY2025 | $4.4M |
| FY2021 | $296K |
|---|---|
| FY2022 | $392K |
| FY2023 | $797K |
| FY2024 | $401K |
| FY2025 | $200K |
Balance Sheet
Statement of Revenue
Financial Metrics
Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.
| Metric | This org | Peer median | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program ratio | 94% | — | — |
| Overhead ratio | 5% | — | — |
| Fundraising cost ratio | 0.7% | — | — |
| Legal fee ratio | <0.01% | — | — |
| Accounting fee ratio | 0.03% | — | — |
Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.
Leadership and pay
Who runs it, and what are they paid?
Officers, Directors & Key Employees
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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Governance & Policies
- 24Voting board membersPt VI · Ln 1a
- 16Independent board membersPt VI · Ln 1b
- Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
- Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
- Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
- Top official’s pay independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
- Family or business ties among leadersPt VI · Ln 2No
Mission and programs
What it does.
Provides early education and developmental support to children under five to ensure they are prepared for success in pre-K and kindergarten.
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Where the work happens
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, full school year program.
Family SUPPORT/HEALTH and safetywake county smart start funds family support, as well as health and safety activities that benefit families and children in wake county. Family supports include parenting skills training, ongoing parent education, family literacy initiatives, transportation, community outreach and case management.
Child care education and qualityin wake county, 26% percent of the birth to five population attended regulated child care. Because a child's experiences in the first five years are of such a critical nature, wake county smart start works to ensure that quality child care is both accessible and available to families who need it.
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Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
Filing history
Every return on file.
| Year | Revenue | Expenses | Change | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $27.9M | $27.2M | +11% | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $25.1M | $25.0M | +10% | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $22.9M | $22.4M | +17% | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $19.7M | $19.3M | -2% | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $20.1M | $19.6M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
Not shown yet: ratings, outcomes, and peer benchmarks. A Form 990 doesn’t report them.
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Sources
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