Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Sep 2006.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
63 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
12 people listed on the 990; $79K paid to officers and key staff.
Kristina Powell’s $79K as Executive Director is at the 71st percentile of top reported officer pay among 1992 $100K–1M youth development 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kristina Powell | $78,916 | $79,988 | $77,311 | $20,449 | — | — |
| Celine Kuhn | — | — | — | — | $62,973 | $71,928 |
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
Empowers youth through writing, sharing their voices and building confidence.
Questions for Telling Room
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We're committed to creating spaces where all students can improve their writing skills and increase their confidence in a supportive, structured way. We provide 12 different school-based and afterschool writing programs year-round and statewide, offer professional development for educators, publish bestselling anthologies of student…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $593K | $388K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $658K | $567K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $31K | $30K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $627K | $537K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $29K | $29K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $85K | $55K | $11K | $19K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $601K | $390K | $75K | $136K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $8K | $5K | $1K | $2K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $51K | $31K | $7K | $12K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $57K | $37K | $7K | $13K |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $27K | $8K | $19K | $114 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $3K | $963 | $447 | $2K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $23K | $5K | $9K | $9K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $3K | $3K | ||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $45K | $45K | ||
| TravelLn 17 | $10K | $9K | $295 | |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $171 | $171 | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $5K | $5K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $101K | $86K | $510 | $14K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.0M | $658K | $184K | $207K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $960K | $1.0M | −$90K | $537K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $779K | $1.1M | −$294K | $627K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $960K | $998K | −$38K | $920K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $915K | $877K | $38K | $958K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $932K | $709K | $223K | $920K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $725K | $728K | −$3K | $705K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $959,912 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 11 of 11 board members independent, 2 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $959,912 across 9 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,049,531 across 15 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $567,007 assets, 12 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $537,100 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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