Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Oct 2017.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
96 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; $351K paid to officers and key staff.
Chris Hopfensperger’s $379K as Executive Director Thru 12/03/2021 is at the 93rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 364 $1–10M science & technology 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
| Name | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Hopfensperger | $378,920 | $350,880 |
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
Educates the public on software's contributions, promotes STEM learning, and clarifies software's role in policy.
Questions for Software Education Foundation
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Research and Publication
SOFTWARE.ORG publishes studies and develops reports that explain cutting-edge technologies before they become mainstream; highlight the economic and employment benefits that the software industry provides to the overall economy; and examine the intersection of software and society by demonstrating the potential changes that…
Stem Education
SOFTWARE.ORG encourages a diverse community of coders and works to increase opportunities for training and skills by directly supporting philanthropic efforts aimed to encourage girls and minorities to enter the software workforce.
Public Education
SOFTWARE.ORG develops and executes educational events in order to engage with policymakers and the public to examine the legal, educational, and economic environment that will enable society to best take advantage of cutting-edge technologies.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $292K | $134K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $3.8M | $3.6M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $4.2M | $3.7M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $1.1M | $1.2M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $3.1M | $2.5M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $75K | $75K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $427K | $406K | $21K | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $142K | $135K | $7K | |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $16K | $15K | $801 | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $27K | $26K | $1K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | −$30K | −$29K | −$2K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $6K | $6K | $317 | |
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $11K | $10K | $550 | |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $161K | $159K | $2K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $1K | $1K | $65 | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $24K | $22K | $1K | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $58K | $55K | $3K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $9K | $9K | $450 | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $14K | $13K | $682 | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $6K | $5K | $286 | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $946K | $909K | $38K | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $295K | $214K | $82K | $4.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $2.4M | $307K | $2.1M | $4.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $241K | $366K | −$125K | $1.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $188K | $428K | −$240K | $1.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $224K | $946K | −$722K | $2.5M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $224,471 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 7 of 7 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $224,471 across 5 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $946,493 across 15 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $3,747,307 assets, 13 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,524,609 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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