Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Mar 2019.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
85 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
5 people listed on the 990; $130K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Maddy Vigil’s $130K as Chief Operating Officer is at the 53rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3395 $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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Erika Donalds | — | $183,326 |
| Maddy Vigil | $130,000 | — |
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.
See Optima Foundation INC executive salaries →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 educators to create and grow excellent schools, maximizing student support.
Questions for Optima Foundation INC
Your first name shows with your question. Optima Foundation INC answers here, for everyone.
To champion education freedom by empowering families and visionaries through classical and innovative academic solutions.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2024. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 82-3745515) · Dispute this lineFunders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $135K | $25K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $0 | $0 |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $3.5M | $4.1M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $1.3M | $1.3M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $2.2M | $2.8M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $209K | $209K | ||
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $8K | $8K | ||
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $11K | $11K | ||
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $13K | $13K | ||
| Management feesLn 11a | $42K | $42K | ||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $105K | $62K | $43K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $4K | $2K | $2K | |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $766 | $454 | $312 | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $270K | $270K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $2K | $941 | $647 | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $40K | $40K | ||
| TravelLn 17 | $6K | $3K | $2K | |
| InterestLn 20 | $61K | $61K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $5K | $3K | $2K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $10K | $6K | $4K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $18K | $11K | $7K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $39K | $18K | $21K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $842K | $718K | $124K | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 17, 2025 | $1.4M | $842K | $588K | $2.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Apr 29, 2024 | $3.5M | $3.5M | $15K | $2.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS May 15, 2023 | $4.2M | $2.9M | $1.3M | $2.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS May 5, 2022 | $1.8M | $1.2M | $605K | $744K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS May 17, 2021 | $906K | $705K | $200K | $194K | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990
Part I · Summary $1,429,852 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 4 of 4 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,429,852 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $842,151 across 17 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $4,122,188 assets, 13 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,832,995 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file FY2024 from the IRS (about our sources) · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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