The Shining Star Foundation

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The Organization provides an intensive, individualized academic program for students with multiple learning differences with a commitment to helping them achieve their full potential and lead gratifying productive lives.

Form 990 Part I, line 1, FY2025. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 68-0221149) · Dispute this line
501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
86¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$480K 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

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
The IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
The latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
1 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $35K a year · 0.6% of revenue · last 6 filings
A surplus in 1 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
86%
of spending
86% of spending went to programs.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$480K
to officers and key staff · 7% of spending
Pay to officers and key staff is 7% of spending.
Part VII, Section A
4.2 mo
of spending, in cash
4.2 months of spending in cash.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $92K
3 funders name it on their filings.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$2.5M
22% of total assets
Liabilities are 22% of assets.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
9
of 9 voting members
9 of 9 voting members are independent.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Revenue
$6.2M
-9% vs prior year
Spent
$6.6M
To programs
86%
Net assets
$8.8M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$6.2M
FY2025▼ -9%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$5.4M
FY2021$6.4M
FY2022$5.9M
FY2023$6.9M
FY2024$6.9M
FY2025$6.2M
Expenses
$6.6M
FY2025▼ -6%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$5.4M
FY2021$5.4M
FY2022$6.2M
FY2023$6.9M
FY2024$7.0M
FY2025$6.6M
Net assets
$8.8M
FY2025▼ -4%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$8.6M
FY2021$9.6M
FY2022$9.3M
FY2023$9.2M
FY2024$9.1M
FY2025$8.8M

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

Is it real?

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

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

Where the money goes

86 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 86% · $5.6M Management & general 11% · $740K Fundraising 3% · $189K

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

12 people listed on the 990; $480K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
Head of School
$254,924Pt VII · Sec A
Business Manager
$120,721Pt VII · Sec A
Occupational Therapist
$104,316Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Sheila Reilly’s $255K as Head of School is at the 91st 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Sheila Reilly$254,924$241,000$241,000$222,796$187,420$206,293
Claudia Thompson——$123,291$114,000$100,968$108,500
John Carmichael—————$121,540
Maggie Coburn$120,721$115,500$110,000$100,000——
Erin Grucz—$110,000————
Maribeth Walsh-Villa$104,316—————
Beth Gonzalez-Karcs———$103,717——

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 The Shining Star 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 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo

Programs and updates

Helps students with learning differences reach their full potential through intensive academic programs.

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1 program · $5.6M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Assists students in becoming proficient in reading, writing, and arithmetic while also providing other support services that help develop their executive abilities. The program also offers a full spectrum of specialists, curricula, remediation and the arts, using hands-on-learning techniques, small academic class sizes, and numerous…

Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2024. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 68-0221149) · Dispute this line
$5.6Mprogram 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 · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$92K
See all 3 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$6.2M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$5.7M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$419K
Other incomeLn 4–11$99K
Money outPt IX
$6.6M
Ln 25
Programscol B$5.6M
Managementcol C$740K
Fundraisingcol D$189K
Owns and owesPt X
$8.8M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$2.3M
Total assetsLn 16$11.3M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2.5M
PeoplePt VI, VII
12
listed · VII A
PaidVII A3
Voting boardVI 1a9
IndependentVI 1b9
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$419K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$5.7M
Investment incomeLn 3$9K
Other incomeLn 4–11$99K
Total revenueLn 12$6.2M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$1.4M
SavingsLn 2$899K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$2.3M
Accounts receivableLn 4$580K
Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesLn 9$21K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$8.4M
Total assetsLn 16$11.3M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2.5M
Net assetsLn 32$8.8M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 567
VolunteersI 60
Fiscal year endsHeaderJuly
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14No
3More from this return
EndowmentSch D · Pt V
LineFY25FY24FY23FY22FY21
End of yearLn 1g$78K$78K$78K$78K$78K
4Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$2.5M$2.3M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$8.7M$8.4M
Total assetsLn 16$11.7M$11.3M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2.6M$2.5M
Net assetsLn 32$9.1M$8.8M
5Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5$480K$416K$51K$13K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$3.5M$3.0M$372K$95K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$39K$34K$4K$1K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$465K$402K$50K$13K
Payroll taxesLn 10$303K$263K$32K$8K
Legal feesLn 11b$9K$0$9K$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$9K$0$9K$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$198K$106K$92K$0
Office expensesLn 13$253K$175K$71K$8K
OccupancyLn 16$309K$272K$34K$2K
InterestLn 20$87K$87K$0$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$469K$469K$0$0
InsuranceLn 23$186K$171K$5K$10K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$263K$215K$10K$38K
Total functional expensesLn 25$6.6M$5.6M$740K$189K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS May 22, 2026 $6.2M$6.6M−$321K$8.8M 990 PDF
FY2024Filed with the IRS May 12, 2025 $6.9M$7.0M−$120K$9.1M 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Mar 19, 2024 $6.9M$6.9M−$58K$9.2M 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS May 3, 2023 $5.9M$6.2M−$300K$9.3M 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS May 12, 2022 $6.4M$5.4M$1.0M$9.6M 990 PDF
FY2020Filed with the IRS Jun 2, 2021 $5.4M$5.4M−$15K$8.6M 990 PDF

Schedules filed Part IV

A · Public support B · Donors D · Assets and endowments E · Schools J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2025 990
Part I · Summary $6,231,688 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $908,073$418,963
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $5,731,784$5,704,634
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $40,504$9,409
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $182,923$98,682
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $6,863,284$6,231,688
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $5,116,962$4,769,006
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $1,866,374$1,783,301
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $6,983,336$6,552,307
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$120,052−$320,619
Part VI · Governance 9 of 9 board members independent, 2 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body9
VI-1b Independent voting members9
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $6,231,688 across 7 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$418,963
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$418,963
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$5,704,634
VIII-3 Investment incomeUnrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $9,409$9,409
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossRelated to mission $79,782$79,782
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $18,900 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$18,900
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $5,803,316 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $9,409$6,231,688
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $6,552,307 across 14 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Programs $415,624 · Management $51,242 · Fundraising $13,095$479,961
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $3,014,975 · Management $371,713 · Fundraising $94,993$3,481,681
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $34,146 · Management $4,210 · Fundraising $1,076$39,432
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $402,443 · Management $49,617 · Fundraising $12,680$464,740
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $262,551 · Management $32,369 · Fundraising $8,272$303,192
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $0 · Management $9,114 · Fundraising $0$9,114
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $0 · Management $9,200 · Fundraising $0$9,200
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $105,726 · Management $91,986 · Fundraising $0$197,712
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $174,659 · Management $70,597 · Fundraising $8,092$253,348
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $272,057 · Management $34,305 · Fundraising $2,450$308,812
IX-20 InterestPrograms $87,008 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$87,008
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $468,633 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$468,633
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $170,735 · Management $5,143 · Fundraising $10,286$186,164
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $214,940 · Management $10,120 · Fundraising $38,250$263,310
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $5,623,497 · Management $739,616 · Fundraising $189,194$6,552,307
Part X · Balance sheet $11,270,041 assets, 15 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $1,643,123$1,394,852
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $874,888$898,931
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $492,495$580,453
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $15,148$20,815
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $8,709,477$8,374,990
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $11,735,131$11,270,041
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $347,963$251,864
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $680,102$692,394
X-23 Secured mortgages and notes payableStart of year $1,585,963$1,537,799
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $12,500$0
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $2,626,528$2,482,057
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $8,637,216$8,341,519
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $471,387$446,465
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $9,108,603$8,787,984
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $11,735,131$11,270,041
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $8,787,984 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$6,231,688
XI-2 Total expenses$6,552,307
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$320,619
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$9,108,603
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$8,787,984

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

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