The mission of Summer Search is to find resilient low-income high school students and inspire them to become responsible altruistic leaders by providing year-round mentoring, summer experiences, college advising and alasting support network.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
67¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 599 volunteers and 197 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · 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
5 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $3.8M a year · 16% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
67%
of spending
Fine: 67% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.9M
to officers and key staff · 9% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 9% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
7 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 6.8 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $19K
Looks good: 3 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$5.0M
14% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 14% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
22
of 22 voting members
Looks good: 22 of 22 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$15.8M
-45% vs prior year
Spent
$21.0M
To programs
67%
Net assets
$31.2M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$15.8M
FY2025▼ -45%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$18.4M
FY2021$33.9M
FY2022$26.6M
FY2023$23.5M
FY2024$28.8M
FY2025$15.8M
Expenses
$21.0M
FY2025▼ -14%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$16.8M
FY2021$18.2M
FY2022$20.8M
FY2023$22.9M
FY2024$24.4M
FY2025$21.0M
Net assets
$31.2M
FY2025▼ -12%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$9.6M
FY2021$25.4M
FY2022$29.9M
FY2023$30.6M
FY2024$35.6M
FY2025$31.2M

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending September 2025) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jan 1990.

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

Where the money goes

67 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 67% · $14.0M Management & general 15% · $3.1M Fundraising 19% · $3.9M

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

37 people listed on the 990; $1.9M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
$350,000Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Impact Officer
$235,092Pt VII · Sec A
Cofo and Secretary Until 11.21.24
$233,277Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Advancement Officer
$204,843Pt VII · Sec A
Executive Director - Bay Area
$197,980Pt VII · Sec A
VP of Talent
$193,462Pt VII · Sec A
VP of Program Until 11.22.24
$186,474Pt VII · Sec A
Executive Director - Seattle
$160,000Pt VII · Sec A

Ursulina Ramirez’s $350K as CEO is at the 79th percentile of top reported officer pay among 414 $10–100M 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Ursulina Ramirez$350,000$333,958————
Marc Spencer———$327,043$282,132$294,750
Peter Retzlaff—$302,012$198,259$172,734$148,426$147,625
Nick Hutchinson$233,277$270,752$216,476$199,560$188,972$187,020
Hermese Velasquez$235,092$207,200$181,909$165,386$128,422—
Megan Sussman$204,843$204,434$185,310$176,209$170,600—
Kenyon Devault$197,980—————
Eunice Dunham$193,462$195,641$164,875$169,632$157,782—

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

Mentors low-income students for leadership, college, and lifelong success.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $12.6M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Summer Placement and Mentoring

Each student receives two full scholarships to life-changing summer experiential education programs, including wilderness leadership expeditions, academic enrichment programs, community service, and internships.

$6.2Mprogram expense
02

Staff Training and Development

Summer Search conducts a strong training effort to teach the uniquely effective interview process that identifies students that have leadership potential through an original youth development model that identifies three character metrics that it hopes to cultivate in young people: resiliency, altruism, and performance.

$4.7Mprogram expense
03

Post-Secondary Program

The Organization provides students support to towards their education and long-term goals. The Post-Secondary Program supports a broad set of mid and long-term outcomes for its participants: educational attainment, career readiness, integrated identity, sense of purpose, and financial well-being.

$1.7Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$19K
See all 3 funders →
Grants paid · 17 grants · $1.7M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$149,905
Unitemized GrantFY2024$87,009
Unitemized GrantFY2023$161,618
Unitemized GrantFY2023$53,504
Unitemized GrantFY2022$131,720
Unitemized GrantFY2022$79,726
Unitemized GrantFY2022$38,402
Unitemized GrantFY2021$129,217
Unitemized GrantFY2021$79,330
Unitemized GrantFY2021$58,100
Unitemized GrantFY2020$205,816
Unitemized GrantFY2020$92,172
Unitemized GrantFY2020$81,406
Unitemized GrantFY2020$46,189
Unitemized GrantFY2019$246,028
Unitemized GrantFY2019$65,056
Unitemized GrantFY2019$33,972

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$15.8M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$14.9M
Investment incomeLn 3$477K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$367K
Money outPt IX
$21.0M
Ln 25
Programscol B$14.0M
Managementcol C$3.1M
Fundraisingcol D$3.9M
Owns and owesPt X
$31.2M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$11.9M
Total assetsLn 16$36.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$5.0M
PeoplePt VI, VII
37
listed · VII A
PaidVII A10
Voting boardVI 1a22
IndependentVI 1b22
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$14.9M
Government grantsLn 1e$505K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$186K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$1.9M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$367K
Investment incomeLn 3$477K
Other incomeLn 4–11$2K
Gains on assetsLn 7$30K
Total revenueLn 12$15.8M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$9.7M
SavingsLn 2$2.2M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$11.9M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$8.8M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$134K
Other assetsLn 15$3.2M
Total assetsLn 16$36.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$5.0M
Net assetsLn 32$31.2M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5197
VolunteersI 6599
Fiscal year endsHeaderSeptember
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 FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$12.6M$11.9M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$7.9M$8.8M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$179K$134K
Total assetsLn 16$39.4M$36.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$3.8M$5.0M
Net assetsLn 32$35.6M$31.2M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$1.9M$1.9M
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$404K$79K$133K$191K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0$0$0$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$12.1M$7.7M$1.7M$2.7M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$190K$150K−$2K$42K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$1.6M$1.1M$214K$291K
Payroll taxesLn 10$970K$622K$128K$219K
Accounting feesLn 11c$164K$164K
Investment management feesLn 11f$54K$54K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$762K$392K$232K$138K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$31K$20K$290$11K
Office expensesLn 13$194K$56K$29K$109K
Information technologyLn 14$459K$252K$152K$55K
OccupancyLn 16$1.2M$1.1M$40K$37K
TravelLn 17$189K$120K$51K$19K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$56K$34K$19K$4K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$104K$91K$6K$7K
InsuranceLn 23$116K$116K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$569K$408K$110K$51K
Total functional expensesLn 25$21.0M$14.0M$3.1M$3.9M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $15.8M$21.0M−$5.2M$31.2M 990 PDF
FY2024 $28.8M$24.4M$4.4M$35.6M 990 PDF
FY2023 $23.5M$22.9M$585K$30.6M 990 PDF
FY2022 $26.6M$20.8M$5.8M$29.9M 990 PDF
FY2021 $33.9M$18.2M$15.8M$25.4M 990 PDF
FY2020 $18.4M$16.8M$1.6M$9.6M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support M · Noncash J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $15,780,583 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $27,163,981$14,935,182
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $382,260$366,789
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $1,235,997$477,041
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $3,603$1,571
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $28,785,841$15,780,583
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $2,254,074$1,893,257
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $18,281,108$15,258,597
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $3,820,741$3,856,481
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $24,355,923$21,008,335
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $4,429,918−$5,227,752
Part VI · Governance 22 of 22 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body22
VI-1b Independent voting members22
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 $15,780,583 across 16 lines filed
VIII-1a Federated campaigns$0
VIII-1b Membership dues$0
VIII-1c Fundraising events$1,897,560
VIII-1d Related organizations$0
VIII-1e Government grants$504,608
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$12,533,014
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$186,144
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$14,935,182
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $366,789 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$366,789
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $446,765$446,765
VIII-5 RoyaltiesRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $30,276$30,276
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsUnrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$0
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $1,571 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$1,571
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $368,360 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $477,041$15,780,583
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $21,008,335 across 22 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $0$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $1,893,257$1,893,257
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $0$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for membersPrograms $0$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $79,377 · Management $133,251 · Fundraising $191,125$403,753
IX-6 Pay of disqualified personsPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $7,677,496 · Management $1,657,785 · Fundraising $2,727,812$12,063,093
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $150,219 · Management −$2,232 · Fundraising $42,147$190,134
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $1,127,087 · Management $213,726 · Fundraising $291,110$1,631,923
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $622,212 · Management $128,160 · Fundraising $219,322$969,694
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $164,024$164,024
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $53,855$53,855
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $391,861 · Management $231,562 · Fundraising $138,446$761,869
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $19,944 · Management $290 · Fundraising $10,917$31,151
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $56,468 · Management $29,008 · Fundraising $108,621$194,097
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $251,768 · Management $152,474 · Fundraising $54,733$458,975
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $1,080,274 · Management $40,273 · Fundraising $36,748$1,157,295
IX-17 TravelPrograms $119,674 · Management $50,723 · Fundraising $18,801$189,198
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $33,875 · Management $18,638 · Fundraising $3,537$56,050
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $90,915 · Management $6,056 · Fundraising $7,416$104,387
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $116,162$116,162
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $407,640 · Management $110,288 · Fundraising $51,490$569,418
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $14,002,067 · Management $3,104,043 · Fundraising $3,902,225$21,008,335
Part X · Balance sheet $36,167,937 assets, 24 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $10,548,111$9,682,222
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $2,090,768$2,180,762
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $16,659,851$11,438,682
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $103,293$325,842
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $45,085$35,221
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $568,586$417,050
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $178,592$133,518
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $7,874,218$8,706,425
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $62,921$62,921
X-13 Program-related investmentsStart of year $0$0
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $0$0
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $1,285,882$3,185,294
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $39,417,307$36,167,937
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $2,438,511$1,951,376
X-18 Grants payableStart of year $0$0
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $0$0
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $0$0
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $0$0
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $1,376,707$3,032,633
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $3,815,218$4,984,009
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $21,681,862$22,052,905
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $13,920,227$9,131,023
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $35,602,089$31,183,928
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $39,417,307$36,167,937
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $31,183,928 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$15,780,583
XI-2 Total expenses$21,008,335
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$5,227,752
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$35,602,089
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$838,591
XI-6 Donated services and use of facilities$0
XI-7 Investment expenses$0
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$0
XI-9 Other changes in net assets−$29,000
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$31,183,928

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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