Craven Smart Start INC FY2021 filing

Tax-deductible

New Bern, NC501(c)(3)EducationEIN 56-2105879Revenue $1.2M in FY2021

On file with the IRScravensmartstart.org2111 Neuse Blvd Ste F, 28560-4318 · New Bern, NCTax-exempt since Feb 1999Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

This page gets seen. Tell your story. Claim this org.

Building brighter futures for young children.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
88¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$113K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

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
2 of 4
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $10K a year · under 1% of revenue · last 4 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 2 of the last 4 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 4 filings
Spent on programs
88%
of spending
Looks good: 88% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$113K
to officers and key staff · 9% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 9% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
<1 mo
of spending, in cash
Worth a look: 0.8 months of spending in cash; under 1.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $1.2M
Looks good: 3 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$5K
6% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 6% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
11
of 14 voting members
Looks good: 11 of 14 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$1.2M
Spent
$1.2M
To programs
88%
Net assets
$81K
By yearFY2021–FY2025
Revenue
$1.2M
FY2021
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2021$1.2M
FY2023$1.3M
FY2024$1.5M
FY2025$1.6M
Expenses
$1.2M
FY2021
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2021$1.2M
FY2023$1.3M
FY2024$1.5M
FY2025$1.5M
Net assets
$81K
FY2021
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2021$81K
FY2023$57K
FY2024$37K
FY2025$100K

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

Give Claim
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 Feb 1999.

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

Where the money goes

88 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 88% · $1.1M Management & general 12% · $143K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Something off? The org can add a note here. Claim this org to fix it.

Who runs it and what they're paid

16 people listed on the 990; $113K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Exective Director
$65,001Pt VII · Sec A
Finance Director
$48,313Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
At-Large Executive Committee
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Cassandra Bennett’s $80K as Executive Director is at the 19th 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2021
Cassandra Bennett$79,910$75,616$37,808—
Patrica Morrow———$65,001
Christy Montanye———$48,313

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 Craven Smart Start INC executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Something off? The org can add a note here. Claim this org to fix it.

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

Empowers young children to build brighter futures.

Questions for Craven Smart Start INC

Tap to ask. Craven Smart Start INC sees how many people are interested.

Your first name shows with your question. Craven Smart Start INC answers here, for everyone.

Provided by the organization

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

3 programs · $726K · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Ccr&r Regional Lead Agency (7104)

Program is to coordinate and integrate CCR&R services delivery systems across the region. This is accomplished by providing effective technical assistance (Infant/Toddler Specialist, School Age Specialist and Behavioral Specialist) to child care providers and consumer-appropriate resource information to parents and the community…

$255Kprogram expense
02

Childcare Resource and Referral (ccr&r 3104)

Assists families in finding high quality childcare in Craven County. Offers Lending library open to the public. For FY 20-21, 1,258 children served by CCR&R's Technical Assistance, 265 teachers/directors attended trainings, 100 referrals were made to parents looking for child care, and 0 items were checked out of the library.

$248Kprogram expense
03

NC Pre-Kindergarten (2342)

Financial assistance paid on a direct per child basis for the purpose of enhancing the NC Pre-K rate for children enrolled in and being served through NC Pre-K and whose families are eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF).

$222Kprogram 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 3 funders$1.2M
See all 3 funders →
Grants paid · 20 grants · $1.6M · 2020–2024
Craven County Board of EducationFY2024$306,052
Excel 7FY2024$48,000
Excel 6FY2024$32,000
Coastal Community Action INCNC · FY2024$16,000
Childcare Network 74FY2024$16,000
Craven County Board of EducationFY2023$306,022
Excel 7 ElaFY2023$43,200
Excel 6 ElaFY2023$32,000
Coastal Community Action INCNC · FY2023$14,400
Childcare Network 77FY2023$14,400
Craven County Board of EducationFY2022$306,052
Excel 7 ElaFY2022$48,000
Excel 6 ElaFY2022$32,000
Childcare Network 77FY2022$16,000
Coastal Community Action INCNC · FY2022$15,800
Craven County Board of EducationFY2020$268,879
Excel 7FY2020$44,400
Coastal Community Action INCNC · FY2020$44,400
See all 20 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.2M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.2M
Other incomeLn 4–11$4K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$82
Money outPt IX
$1.2M
Ln 25
Programscol B$1.1M
Managementcol C$143K
Owns and owesPt X
$81K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$84K
Total assetsLn 16$86K
LiabilitiesLn 26$5K
PeoplePt VI, VII
16
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a14
IndependentVI 1b11
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.2M
Government grantsLn 1e$1.2M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$0
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$6K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$82
Other incomeLn 4–11$4K
Total revenueLn 12$1.2M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$84K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$84K
Other assetsLn 15$2K
Total assetsLn 16$86K
LiabilitiesLn 26$5K
Net assetsLn 32$81K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 523
VolunteersI 638
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$90K$84K
Total assetsLn 16$90K$86K
LiabilitiesLn 26$15K$5K
Net assetsLn 32$75K$81K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$402K$402K
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$16K$16K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$65K$8K$57K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$565K$526K$39K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$8K$4K$3K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$8K$6K$2K
Payroll taxesLn 10$49K$40K$9K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$7K$4K$3K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$3K$3K
Office expensesLn 13$36K$29K$6K
Information technologyLn 14$4K$3K$844
OccupancyLn 16$45K$40K$5K
TravelLn 17$593$586$7
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$8K$7K$1K
InsuranceLn 23$9K$1K$8K
All other expensesLn 24e$12K$4K$9K$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.2M$1.1M$143K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $1.6M$1.5M$63K$100K 990 PDF
FY2024 $1.5M$1.5M−$20K$37K 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.3M$1.3M−$10K$57K 990 PDF
FY2022 Not on file
FY2021 Viewing $1.2M$1.2M$6K$81K 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,244,606 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $1,360,088$1,240,922
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $4,676$82
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $0$0
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $16,724$3,602
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $1,381,488$1,244,606
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $590,044$418,501
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $693,856$694,536
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $169,511$125,392
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $1,453,411$1,238,429
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$71,923$6,177
Part VI · Governance 11 of 14 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body14
VI-1b Independent voting members11
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 $1,244,606 across 9 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $3,684 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1a Federated campaigns$0
VIII-1b Membership dues$0
VIII-1c Fundraising events$5,510
VIII-1d Related organizations$0
VIII-1e Government grants$1,222,911
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$12,501
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$0
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,240,922
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $3,684 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$1,244,606
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,238,429 across 16 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $402,079$402,079
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $16,422$16,422
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $8,445 · Management $56,886$65,331
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $525,824 · Management $38,963$564,787
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $4,375 · Management $3,340$7,715
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $6,066 · Management $1,641$7,707
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $40,203 · Management $8,793$48,996
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $4,273 · Management $3,190$7,463
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $3,359$3,359
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $29,466 · Management $6,417$35,883
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $2,757 · Management $844$3,601
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $39,989 · Management $5,046$45,035
IX-17 TravelPrograms $586 · Management $7$593
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $6,954 · Management $1,002$7,956
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $1,442 · Management $7,601$9,043
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $3,537 · Management $8,922 · Fundraising $0$12,459
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $1,095,777 · Management $142,652 · Fundraising $0$1,238,429
Part X · Balance sheet $85,701 assets, 9 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $89,891$83,884
X-15 Other assets$1,817
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $89,891$85,701
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $15,365$4,998
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $15,365$4,998
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $48,231$49,597
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $26,295$31,106
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $74,526$80,703
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $89,891$85,701
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $80,703 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,244,606
XI-2 Total expenses$1,238,429
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$6,177
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$74,526
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$0
XI-6 Donated services and use of facilities$0
XI-7 Investment expenses$0
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$0
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$80,703

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

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.