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
87 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
16 people listed on the 990; $38K paid to officers and key staff.
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
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
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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
Empowers young children to build brighter futures.
Questions for Craven Smart Start INC
Your first name shows with your question. Craven Smart Start INC answers here, for everyone.
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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 22-23, 200 adults used the Lending Library resources, 229 teachers/directors from Licensed facilities attended trainings, and 130 referrals were made to parents looking for childcare.
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…
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).
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2023 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY23 | End FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $70K | $67K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $70K | $67K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $3K | $10K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $67K | $57K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $418K | $418K | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $31K | $31K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $70K | $70K | ||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $593K | $544K | $40K | $8K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $7K | $5K | $2K | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $7K | $6K | $1K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $52K | $41K | $10K | $621 |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $4K | $390 | $4K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $2K | $2K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $45K | $36K | $7K | $3K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $11K | $5K | $6K | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $47K | $43K | $4K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $19K | $16K | $2K | |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $13K | $11K | $2K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $10K | $2K | $8K | $15 |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $12K | $6K | $6K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.3M | $1.2M | $163K | $12K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $1.6M | $1.5M | $63K | $100K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $1.5M | $1.5M | −$20K | $37K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 Viewing | $1.3M | $1.3M | −$10K | $57K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | Not on file | ||||
| FY2021 | $1.2M | $1.2M | $6K | $81K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,330,159 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 10 of 15 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,330,159 across 9 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,339,729 across 16 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $67,109 assets, 8 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $57,172 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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