Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 1999.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
79 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
5 people listed on the 990; $840 paid to officers and key staff.
Sara Ellington’s $120 as Director is at the 0th 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 · 7 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary D Lambert | $60 | $120 | $180 | $240 | $180 | $180 |
| Sara Ellington | $120 | $120 | $120 | $240 | $120 | $120 |
| Nancy Brown | $120 | $60 | $240 | $240 | $120 | $180 |
| Bob Ferguson | — | $120 | $180 | $240 | $180 | $180 |
| Sylvia Ferguson | — | — | — | $240 | $180 | $180 |
| Elizabeth Lovelace | $120 | $120 | $180 | — | — | — |
| James Phelps | $60 | — | — | — | — | — |
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 Tri-State Educational Foundation executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Programs and updates
Funds educational scholarships and grants for qualified applicants.
Questions for Tri-State Educational Foundation
Your first name shows with your question. Tri-State Educational Foundation answers here, for everyone.
The foundation provides funding for educational scholarships and grants.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $306K | $561K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $10K | $7K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $320K | $572K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $21K | $93K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $299K | $479K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $495K | $495K | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $34K | $34K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $840 | $840 | ||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $79K | $79K | ||
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $8K | $8K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $9K | $9K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $14K | $14K | ||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $14K | $14K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $5K | $5K | ||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $1K | $1K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $3K | $712 | $2K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $7K | $7K | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $671K | $529K | $139K | $2K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS Jan 13, 2026 | $1.5M | $1.8M | −$322K | $1.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Feb 13, 2025 | $1.7M | $2.0M | −$282K | $2.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Aug 13, 2024 | $1.8M | $1.5M | $345K | $2.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Feb 15, 2023 | $1.8M | $1.0M | $807K | $2.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Feb 7, 2022 | $1.5M | $650K | $857K | $1.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Feb 5, 2021 | $850K | $671K | $180K | $479K | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $850,283 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 5 of 5 board members independent, 5 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $850,283 across 4 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $670,521 across 12 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $571,668 assets, 10 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $479,164 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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