Educational First Steps EIN 75-2334053

Educational First Steps

EIN  75-2334053 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Dallas, TX
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 8/31/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Builds and supports early learning environments for young children in underserved communities.
Leadership
Dominique McCain · President & CEO · $200K
Money in and out
$2.7M revenue, $3.9M expenses
Bottom line
69% program efficiency

Builds and supports early learning environments for young children in underserved communities. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $2.7M in revenue, $3.9M in expenses, and $7.5M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$2.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$3.9M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$7.5M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$1.2M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.69 Management & general $0.17 Fundraising $0.13
Program efficiency
69%
of spending reaches programs▲ +10% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
19.5mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -3% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-43%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +40% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$2.7M
FY2025▲ +19%
Expenses
$3.9M
FY2025▼ -1%
Total assets
$7.7M
FY2025▼ -12%
Total liabilities
$144K
FY2025▼ -6%
Total revenue
$2.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$3.9M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$7.5M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$1.2M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$7.7M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B69%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 318
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 418
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $2.7M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

On-Site and Virtual Mentoring & Professional Development

EFS provides regular on-site and virtual coaching, classroom modeling, and instructional support to early childhood educators across 100+ childcare centers and registered home providers. These services are aligned with national accreditation standards (NAC/NAEYC) and support teachers in implementing developmentally appropriate practices.

$1.8Mprogram expense
02

Resource Distribution (nac Boxes & Center Support)

EFS supplies participating centers with essential classroom resources, including curriculum materials, books, manipulatives, furniture, and NAC accreditation supplies (NAC boxes). These materials are directly aligned to accreditation standards and help improve the quality of learning environments.

$542Kprogram expense
03

Child Development Associate (CDA) Credentialing & Workforce Investment: EFS supports the early education workforce by providing scholarships, coursework funding, and one-on-one coaching to help early educators pursue their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential.

$407Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CEducational First Steps
EINHdr · item D75-2334053
Principal addressHdr · item CDallas, TX
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.educationalfirststeps.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MTX
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFEducation (B82J)
Ruling yearIRS BMFSep 1990

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a18
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b18
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
President & CEO
$200,000Pt VII · Sec A
$180,000Pt VII · Sec A
$140,000Pt VII · Sec A
Dir. of Ops.
$110,000Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Dominique McCain’s $200K as President & CEO is at the 82nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3393 $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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Vickie Allen$240,000$215,677$161,260$152,188
Dominique McCain$200,000$154,082
Crystal Sands$180,000
Ken Gilliam$141,849$118,295
Jacqueline Adam-Taylor$140,000
David Smith$137,500$112,295$98,256
Teel Wilkinson$111,630$70,825
Edward Rodgers$110,000

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$2.7M · 97%
Investment income$224K · 8%
Program service revenue$83K · 3%
Contributions & grants97%$2.7M
Investment income8%$224K
Program service revenue3%$83K
Total revenueLn 12$2.7M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.69 Management & general $0.17 Fundraising $0.13
Program services69%$2.7M
Management & general17%$679K
Fundraising13%$523K
Total functional expensesLn 25$3.9M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$1.4M
Total assetsLn 16$7.7M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$144K
Total net assetsLn 32$7.5M
Months of cash on handcomputed4.4

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $6.4M · Operating expenses/yr $3.9M
19.5 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $2.7M · Total expenses $3.9M
69%
Management & General
Management & general $679K · Total expenses $3.9M
17%
Fundraising
Fundraising $523K · Total expenses $3.9M
13%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $610K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $2.9M
$0.21 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $2.7M · Total revenue $2.7M
97%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $2.7M
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $83K · Total revenue $2.7M
3%
Investment reliance
Investment income $224K · Total revenue $2.7M
+8%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $83K · Total expenses $3.9M
2%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $2.7M · Prior year $2.3M
+19%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $3.8M · FY2024 $2.7M
-8%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $7.5M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $2.7M · Expenses $3.9M
-43%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $7.7M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $7.5M · Total assets $7.7M
98%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $4.9M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $7.7M
64%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Dominique McCain · Reported title President & CEO · Highest reported compensation $200K · Total expenses $3.9M
5%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $2.5M · Total expenses $3.9M
63%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 69%
Overhead ratio 17%
Fundraising cost ratio 20%
Revenue growth 19%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 2%
Fundraising fee ratio 0%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Out to Play INCFY2025$380K
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$390K
Grants paid · 2 grants · $270K · 2020–2020
Unitemized GrantFY2020$248,711
Unitemized GrantFY2020$21,040

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$2.7M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$2.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$3.7M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$5.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$3.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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