Chispa Project EIN 81-1094634

Chispa Project

EIN  81-1094634 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Denver, CO
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Builds school libraries and provides books to empower Honduran students.
Leadership
Sara Burkes Brakhane · Executive Director · $52K
Money in and out
$400K revenue, $350K expenses
Bottom line
89% program efficiency

Builds school libraries and provides books to empower Honduran students. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $400K in revenue, $350K in expenses, and $178K in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$400K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$350K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$178K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $50K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.89 Management & general $0.08 Fundraising $0.03
Program efficiency
89%
of spending reaches programs▲ +2% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
6.1mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -8% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+13%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -33% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$400K
FY2024▲ +40%
Expenses
$350K
FY2024▲ +50%
Total assets
$178K
FY2024▲ +39%
Total liabilities
$0
FY2024
Total revenue
$400K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$350K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$178K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$50K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$178K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B89%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 37
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 46
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $312K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

New School Libraries

10 new children's libraries installed, 5,370 students reached

$236Kprogram expense
02

Volunteer Program for international volunteers and their expenses related to the cultural exchange and volunteer work of setting up a library

$53Kprogram expense
03

Special Programs

We partnered with 10 organizations to help support their reading programs through books and training.

$23Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CChispa Project
EINHdr · item D81-1094634
Principal addressHdr · item CDenver, CO
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.chispaproject.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MCO
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFInternational (Q30)
Ruling yearIRS BMFApr 2016

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a7
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b6
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
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
Executive Director
$52,100Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President, Board of Directors
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Member, Board of Directors
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary, Board of Directors
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer, Board of Directors
$0Pt VII · Sec A
President, Board of Directors
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Sara Burkes Brakhane’s $52K as Executive Director is at the 49th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1637 $100K–1M international 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Sara Burkes Brakhane$52,100$29,300$25,700$6,800

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$308K · 77%
Program service revenue$88K · 22%
Investment income$4K · 1%
Contributions & grants77%$308K
Program service revenue22%$88K
Investment income1%$4K
— government grantsLn 1e$24K
Total revenueLn 12$400K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.89 Management & general $0.08 Fundraising $0.03
Program services89%$312K
Management & general8%$26K
Fundraising3%$12K
Total functional expensesLn 25$350K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$178K
Total assetsLn 16$178K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$0
Total net assetsLn 32$178K
Months of cash on handcomputed6.1

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $178K · Operating expenses/yr $350K
6.1 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $312K · Total expenses $350K
89%
Management & General
Management & general $26K · Total expenses $350K
8%
Fundraising
Fundraising $12K · Total expenses $350K
3%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $10K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $256K
$0.04 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $308K · Total revenue $400K
77%
Government reliance
Government grants $24K · Total revenue $400K
6%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $88K · Total revenue $400K
22%
Investment reliance
Investment income $4K · Total revenue $400K
+1%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $88K · Total expenses $350K
25%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $400K · Prior year $287K
+40%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $126K · FY2024 $400K
+34%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $178K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $400K · Expenses $350K
+13%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $178K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $178K · Total assets $178K
100%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $0 · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $178K
0%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Sara Burkes Brakhane · Reported title Executive Director · Highest reported compensation $52K · Total expenses $350K
15%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $143K · Total expenses $350K
41%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 89%
Overhead ratio 8%
Fundraising cost ratio 4%
Revenue growth 40%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 0%
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 · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 5 funders$143K
See all 5 funders →

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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
FY2024 (Latest)$400K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$287K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$238K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$168K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$126K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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