Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jan 2004.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
75 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
25 people listed on the 990; $1.1M paid to officers and key staff.
Elissa Ellis Sangster’s $269K as CEO is at the 95th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1245 $1–10M employment 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elissa Ellis Sangster | $269,275 | $257,417 | $243,516 | $218,695 | $205,999 |
| Katherine Stanfield | $190,212 | $176,541 | — | — | — |
| Daniel Garza | $188,991 | $182,305 | $172,850 | $152,933 | — |
| Arrion Rathsack | $167,383 | $159,017 | $150,050 | $125,350 | $113,100 |
| Mariska Morse | $165,550 | — | — | — | — |
| Amy Orlov | $159,298 | $153,275 | $153,600 | $148,433 | $140,600 |
| Lisa Standley | — | $147,317 | $141,550 | $128,767 | — |
| Ana McCarthy | — | — | — | $143,015 | $133,088 |
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 women with business education, career development, and a supportive community for fulfilling careers.
Questions for The Forte Foundation
Your first name shows with your question. The Forte Foundation answers here, for everyone.
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Forte's alliance connects talented women, companies, universities, and business schools. Forte provides women with access to business education, role models, professional networks, and leadership training that empowers them to rethink what is possible.
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 | $3.2M | $2.7M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $250K | |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $3.7M | $3.5M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $2.2M | $2.3M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $1.5M | $1.2M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $10K | $10K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $309K | $77K | $186K | $46K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $3.7M | $2.7M | $506K | $411K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $148K | $119K | $13K | $16K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $312K | $228K | $48K | $35K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $296K | $212K | $50K | $34K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $25K | $25K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $32K | $32K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $191K | $82K | $86K | $23K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $380K | $329K | $29K | $23K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $77K | $12K | $59K | $7K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $334K | $299K | $23K | $12K |
| TravelLn 17 | $209K | $121K | $58K | $30K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $1.0M | $1.0M | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $141K | $96K | $2K | $43K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $10K | $9K | $502 | $1K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $7.2M | $5.4M | $1.1M | $682K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest Viewing | $6.8M | $7.2M | −$336K | $1.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $6.8M | $6.8M | $6K | $1.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $5.9M | $6.1M | −$172K | $1.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $5.4M | $4.4M | $1.0M | $1.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $4.0M | $3.6M | $424K | $645K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $6,828,496 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 16 of 16 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $6,828,496 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $7,164,041 across 16 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $3,484,051 assets, 14 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,170,020 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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