Venture Academies FY2022 filing

Tax-deductible

Minneapolis, MN501(c)(3)Since 2012EducationEIN 61-1677994Revenue $8.7M in FY2022

On file with the IRSventureacademies.org315 27th Ave Se, 55414-3234 · Minneapolis, MNTax-exempt since Jul 2013School — 170(b)(1)(A)(ii)

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

To ignite the passion of all young people to become innovators and entrepreneurial leaders who will change the world. Venture seeks to enable young people to achieve unprecedented learning growth, demonstrate character and leadership and learn to imagine opportunities, take initiative and create solutions.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
80¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$268K 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

FY2022 · 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
1 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $189K a year · 2% of revenue · last 6 filings
Concern: a surplus in 1 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
80%
of spending
Looks good: 80% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$268K
to officers and key staff · 3% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 3% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 1.8 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $45K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$6.8M
123% of total assets
Concern: liabilities are 123% of assets; over 80%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
6
of 8 voting members
Looks good: 6 of 8 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$8.7M
+24% vs prior year
Spent
$7.8M
To programs
80%
Net assets
−$1.3M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$8.7M
FY2022▲ +24%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$6.9M
FY2021$7.0M
FY2022$8.7M
FY2023$8.7M
FY2024$9.2M
FY2025$8.6M
Expenses
$7.8M
FY2022▲ +5%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$7.3M
FY2021$7.4M
FY2022$7.8M
FY2023$8.8M
FY2024$9.6M
FY2025$9.2M
Net assets
−$1.3M
FY2022▲ +41%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020−$1.7M
FY2021−$2.2M
FY2022−$1.3M
FY2023−$1.4M
FY2024−$1.8M
FY2025−$2.6M

From the FY2022 Form 990 (year ending June 2022) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim
You’re viewing the FY2022 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 Jul 2013.

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

Where the money goes

80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 80% · $6.2M Management & general 20% · $1.6M

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. Request edit privileges.

Who runs it and what they're paid

9 people listed on the 990; $268K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2021); the FY2022 filing did not itemize Part VII
$110,313Pt VII · Sec A
Vice-Chairperson
$79,070Pt VII · Sec A
$78,504Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Andrew Lawton’s $72K as Vice-Chair/Acting Chairper is at the 15th 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 · 6 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Michael Warner———$110,313——
Andrew Lawton$72,443$69,032$68,118$79,070$72,294$70,572
Charles Ellsworth——$68,565$78,504$74,968$64,815
Kristen Robinson——$66,108———
Dior Ford$62,026—————
Jace Carlson—————$19,850

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.

See Venture Academies executive salaries →

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

Something off? The org can add a note here. Request edit privileges.

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

Ignites young people's passion to become world-changing innovators and entrepreneurial leaders.

Provided by the organization

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

1 program · $6.2M · in their own filed words · FY2021
01

The school educated students with a combined purpose of growing the entrepreneurial spirit while aspiring to reach individual goals and state educational standards.

$6.2Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2022
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$45K

By the numbers

The FY2022 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$8.7M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$8.5M
Other incomeLn 4–11$234K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$15K
Money outPt IX
$7.8M
Ln 25
Programscol B$6.2M
Managementcol C$1.6M
Owns and owesPt X
−$1.3M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.2M
Total assetsLn 16$5.5M
LiabilitiesLn 26$6.8M
PeoplePt VI, VII
9
listed · VII A
PaidVII A3
Voting boardVI 1a8
IndependentVI 1b6
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$8.5M
Government grantsLn 1e$8.4M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$15K
Other incomeLn 4–11$234K
Total revenueLn 12$8.7M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
SavingsLn 2$1.2M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$1.2M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$560K
Other assetsLn 15$2.8M
Total assetsLn 16$5.5M
LiabilitiesLn 26$6.8M
Net assetsLn 32−$1.3M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 587
VolunteersI 610
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 FY22End FY22
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$796K$1.2M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$419K$560K
Total assetsLn 16$5.0M$5.5M
LiabilitiesLn 26$7.2M$6.8M
Net assetsLn 32−$2.2M−$1.3M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$310K$183K$127K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$4.0M$3.6M$335K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$393K$378K$16K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$414K$370K$45K
Payroll taxesLn 10$316K$283K$33K
Legal feesLn 11b$16K$16K
Accounting feesLn 11c$69K$69K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$370K$252K$117K
Office expensesLn 13$61K$61K
Information technologyLn 14$156K$68K$87K
OccupancyLn 16$479K$57K$422K
TravelLn 17$715K$715K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$23K$23K
InterestLn 20$8K$8K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$47K$14K$33K
InsuranceLn 23$25K$25K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$352K$169K$183K
All other expensesLn 24e$76K$67K$9K
Total functional expensesLn 25$7.8M$6.2M$1.6M$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $8.6M$9.2M−$598K−$2.6M 990 PDF
FY2024 $9.2M$9.6M−$418K−$1.8M 990 PDF
FY2023 $8.7M$8.8M−$137K−$1.4M 990 PDF
FY2022 Viewing $8.7M$7.8M$886K−$1.3M 990 PDF
FY2021 $7.0M$7.4M−$418K−$2.2M 990 PDF
FY2020 $6.9M$7.3M−$446K−$1.7M 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 FY2022 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $8,701,021 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $6,998,603$8,452,668
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$14,729
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $0$0
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $5,859$233,624
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $7,004,462$8,701,021
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $24,647$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $5,278,857$5,418,549
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $2,118,963$2,396,262
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $7,422,467$7,814,811
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$418,005$886,210
Part VI · Governance 6 of 8 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body8
VI-1b Independent voting members6
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 $8,701,021 across 6 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$8,444,652
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$8,016
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$8,452,668
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $14,729$14,729
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $233,624$233,624
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $248,353 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$8,701,021
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $7,814,811 across 18 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $182,901 · Management $127,286$310,187
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $3,649,651 · Management $335,475$3,985,126
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $377,504 · Management $15,575$393,079
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $369,916 · Management $44,582$414,498
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $282,674 · Management $32,985$315,659
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $16,198$16,198
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $69,000$69,000
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $252,459 · Management $117,390$369,849
IX-13 Office expensesManagement $60,686$60,686
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $68,383 · Management $87,225$155,608
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $57,457 · Management $421,681$479,138
IX-17 TravelPrograms $715,178$715,178
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $22,503$22,503
IX-20 InterestManagement $7,976$7,976
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $14,018 · Management $33,479$47,497
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $24,570$24,570
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $169,314 · Management $182,960$352,274
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $66,525 · Management $9,260$75,785
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $6,228,483 · Management $1,586,328 · Fundraising $0$7,814,811
Part X · Balance sheet $5,505,503 assets, 12 lines filed
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $795,701$1,154,103
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $938,521$871,036
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $135,472$80,250
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $419,428$559,563
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $2,749,372$2,840,551
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $5,038,494$5,505,503
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $85,504$313,705
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $14,400$14,400
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $6,109,373$6,249,240
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $7,196,546$6,777,345
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year −$2,158,052−$1,271,842
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $5,038,494$5,505,503
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets −$1,271,842 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$8,701,021
XI-2 Total expenses$7,814,811
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$886,210
XI-4 Net assets at start of year−$2,158,052
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year−$1,271,842

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2022 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

Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.
Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.

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.