To provide an elementary school education that fosters each child's natural ability to become a productive, employable and active member of family and community through a Christ-centered foundational approach.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
76¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$94K 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

FY2024 · 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
4 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $75K a year · 12% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
76%
of spending
Looks good: 76% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$94K
to officers and key staff · 17% of spending
Fine: pay to officers and key staff is 17% of spending; 15% to 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
5 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 5.2 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $15K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$15K
2% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 2% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
5
of 7 voting members
Looks good: 5 of 7 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$435K
-36% vs prior year
Spent
$564K
To programs
76%
Net assets
$770K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$435K
FY2024▼ -36%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$565K
FY2021$828K
FY2022$668K
FY2023$680K
FY2024$435K
FY2025$463K
Expenses
$564K
FY2024▲ +19%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$513K
FY2021$580K
FY2022$576K
FY2023$473K
FY2024$564K
FY2025$482K
Net assets
$770K
FY2024▼ -13%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$328K
FY2021$575K
FY2022$667K
FY2023$881K
FY2024$770K
FY2025$775K

From the FY2024 Form 990 (year ending June 2024) · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2024 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 2017.

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

Where the money goes

76 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 76% · $431K Management & general 16% · $88K Fundraising 8% · $45K

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

7 people listed on the 990; $94K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2023); the FY2024 filing did not itemize Part VII
Head of School
$58,947Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer & Lead Pre-K Teacher
$35,367Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Chairman of the Board
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Mary Grams’s $42K as Treasurer, Board Member, Head of School, & Teacher is at the 33rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 1613 $100K–1M 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Joan Pingel—$58,947$53,604$51,734$51,400$51,400
Mary Grams$42,000$35,367$32,162$31,040$30,840$30,840
David Zimmel$3,300—————

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 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo

Programs and updates

Educates children with a Christ-centered approach, fostering productive, employable, and active community members.

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Provided by the organization

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2 programs · $431K · in their own filed words · FY2023
01

Praise Academy provides our students with a solid foundation in the essentials of elementary education: reading, writing, math, science, social studies, art, music and physical education. In addition to these foundational skills, we work at developing life-skills such as basic construction and cooking, and we strive to develop character…

$422Kprogram expense
02

The two summer camps exceeded our anticipated attendance of 50 campers each. Evansville camp had 73 registered campers and Shreveport had 62 with consistent attendance for the whole duration of camp.

$9Kprogram 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 · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$15K
Grants paid · 2 grants · $323K · 2019–2021
Unitemized GrantFY2021$131,875
Unitemized GrantFY2019$191,036

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$435K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$408K
Investment incomeLn 3$17K
Other incomeLn 4–11$5K
Money outPt IX
$564K
Ln 25
Programscol B$431K
Managementcol C$88K
Fundraisingcol D$45K
Owns and owesPt X
$770K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$244K
Total assetsLn 16$786K
LiabilitiesLn 26$15K
PeoplePt VI, VII
7
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a7
IndependentVI 1b5
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$408K
Government grantsLn 1e$0
Noncash giftsLn 1g$2K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$0
Fees for servicesLn 2g$4K
Investment incomeLn 3$17K
Other incomeLn 4–11$5K
Total revenueLn 12$435K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$244K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$244K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$447K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$92K
Total assetsLn 16$786K
LiabilitiesLn 26$15K
Net assetsLn 32$770K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 514
VolunteersI 620
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$393K$244K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$412K$447K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$94K$92K
Total assetsLn 16$898K$786K
LiabilitiesLn 26$17K$15K
Net assetsLn 32$881K$770K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$3K$3K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$94K$79K$15K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$231K$189K$13K$28K
Payroll taxesLn 10$25K$21K$2K$2K
Legal feesLn 11b$5K$5K
Accounting feesLn 11c$22K$22K
Investment management feesLn 11f$921$921
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$24K$24K$435
Advertising and promotionLn 12$14K$14K
Office expensesLn 13$21K$19K$2K
Information technologyLn 14$4K$4K
OccupancyLn 16$39K$38K$778
TravelLn 17$5K$3K$2K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$4K$4K
InsuranceLn 23$24K$24K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$47K$46K$1K
Total functional expensesLn 25$564K$431K$88K$45K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $463K$482K−$19K$775K 990 PDF
FY2024 Viewing $435K$564K−$129K$770K 990 PDF
FY2023 $680K$473K$207K$881K 990 PDF
FY2022 $668K$576K$92K$667K 990 PDF
FY2021 $828K$580K$247K$575K 990 PDF
FY2020 $565K$513K$52K$328K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $434,688 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $653,296$408,365
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $6,351$4,322
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $8,897$17,297
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $11,642$4,704
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $680,186$434,688
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $3,446$3,319
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $315,065$349,829
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $154,233$210,406
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $472,744$563,554
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $207,442−$128,866
Part VI · Governance 5 of 7 board members independent, 3 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body7
VI-1b Independent voting members5
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $434,688 across 13 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $4,104 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1a Federated campaigns$0
VIII-1b Membership dues$0
VIII-1c Fundraising events$0
VIII-1d Related organizations$0
VIII-1e Government grants$0
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$408,365
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$1,909
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$408,365
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $4,322 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$4,322
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $17,297 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$17,297
VIII-5 RoyaltiesRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossRelated to mission $600 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$600
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $26,323 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$434,688
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $563,554 across 17 lines filed
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $3,319$3,319
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $78,988 · Management $15,326$94,314
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $189,389 · Management $12,973 · Fundraising $28,293$230,655
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $20,625 · Management $2,071 · Fundraising $2,164$24,860
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $5,000$5,000
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $21,736$21,736
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $921$921
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $23,783 · Management $435$24,218
IX-12 Advertising and promotionFundraising $14,490$14,490
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $19,110 · Management $2,290$21,400
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $3,870$3,870
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $38,126 · Management $778$38,904
IX-17 TravelPrograms $3,294 · Management $1,727$5,021
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $3,746$3,746
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $23,719$23,719
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $46,363 · Management $1,018$47,381
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $430,613 · Management $87,994 · Fundraising $44,947$563,554
Part X · Balance sheet $785,681 assets, 12 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $392,790$243,699
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $0$2,500
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $93,597$92,415
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $411,822$447,067
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $898,209$785,681
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $12,671$15,269
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $4,630$0
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $17,301$15,269
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $763,421$612,549
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $117,487$157,863
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $880,908$770,412
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $898,209$785,681
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $770,412 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$434,688
XI-2 Total expenses$563,554
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$128,866
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$880,908
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$18,869
XI-6 Donated services and use of facilities$0
XI-7 Investment expenses$0
XI-8 Prior period adjustments−$499
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$770,412

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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