Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in May 2004.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
86 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; $1.8M paid to officers and key staff.
Lisa Margosian’s $418K as CEO is at the 82nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3683 $10–100M 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisa Margosian | $418,392 | $476,432 | $263,461 | — | — | — |
| Dacia Toll | — | — | — | $450,997 | $287,184 | $287,443 |
| Fatimah Barker | — | — | $394,241 | $288,024 | $196,454 | $193,478 |
| Richard Buery | — | — | — | $323,737 | $184,692 | — |
| Stephanie Blake | — | — | $228,048 | $313,034 | $251,230 | $210,819 |
| Karolyn Belcher | — | $288,627 | — | — | — | — |
| Douglas McCurry | — | — | — | — | $190,330 | $284,200 |
| De-Lea Deane | — | — | $277,188 | — | — | — |
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
Operates K-12 charter schools, preparing students for college and leadership.
Questions for Achievement First INC
Your first name shows with your question. Achievement First INC answers here, for everyone.
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Educational, financial and management services to charter schools in connecticut, new york and rhode island.
Improvement of educational experiences related to preparation and success in college, innovation in elementary school design, parent and community engagement and, sharing educational practices with traditional public and other charter schools.
School Grants
To provide assistance to a network of k-12 public charter schools in connecticut, rhode island, and new york. The network of schools focuses on providing students with the academic and character skills they need to graduate from top colleges, to succeed in a competitive world, and to serve as the next generation of leaders of their…
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 | $7.4M | $10.3M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $490K | |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $87K | $32K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $23.7M | $31.7M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $6.7M | $10.9M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $17.0M | $20.8M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $4.2M | $4.2M | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $44K | $44K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $823K | $687K | $108K | $29K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $25.8M | $21.5M | $3.4M | $893K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $460K | $391K | $54K | $15K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $2.2M | $1.9M | $257K | $73K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $2.2M | $1.8M | $256K | $73K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $54K | $40K | $11K | $3K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $51K | $38K | $11K | $2K |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $910K | $678K | $188K | $44K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $195K | $185K | $10K | $69 |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $323K | $250K | $61K | $11K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $526K | $506K | $18K | $1K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $863K | $767K | $86K | $10K |
| TravelLn 17 | $569K | $466K | $95K | $8K |
| InterestLn 20 | $24K | $24K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $52K | $52K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $8K | $7K | $717 | $207 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $2.9M | $2.5M | $289K | $57K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $157K | $118K | $21K | $19K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $42.3M | $36.2M | $4.9M | $1.2M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $54.9M | $50.9M | $4.0M | $37.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $56.5M | $51.1M | $5.4M | $33.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $41.9M | $52.6M | −$10.6M | $28.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $47.6M | $51.6M | −$4.0M | $38.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $64.4M | $42.6M | $21.8M | $42.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $46.1M | $42.3M | $3.8M | $20.8M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $46,067,624 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 8 of 8 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $46,067,624 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $42,305,981 across 20 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $31,723,852 assets, 18 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $20,790,714 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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