Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 2018.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
80 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
21 people listed on the 990; $202K paid to officers and key staff.
David Rice’s $133K as Executive Editor is at the 55th 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 · 5 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Rice | $133,207 | $131,435 | $143,528 | $127,715 | $122,286 | $122,594 |
| Debra Rezeli | — | $77,202 | $97,367 | $86,516 | $82,135 | — |
| Melissa Davis | — | $61,641 | $61,882 | $92,872 | — | — |
| Debra Rezell | — | — | — | — | — | $79,822 |
| Shawnice Meador | $46,831 | — | — | — | — | — |
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 Higher Ed Works 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
Promotes citizen support for higher education, linking education to economic prosperity.
Questions for Higher Ed Works
Your first name shows with your question. Higher Ed Works answers here, for everyone.
Like every organization Higher Ed Works operations were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As the reach of the virus became apparent, the organization scaled back its budgeted expenditures by more than 18% or $151,608 in April 2020.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $25K | $454K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $314K | $454K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $0 | $0 |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $314K | $454K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $202K | $176K | $16K | $10K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $22K | $19K | $2K | $1K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $16K | $14K | $1K | $826 |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $8K | $8K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $9K | $1K | $8K | $70 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $130K | $130K | ||
| TravelLn 17 | $3K | $1K | $1K | $425 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $4K | $4K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $273K | $192K | $25K | $56K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $2K | $2K | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $668K | $532K | $66K | $69K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS Jul 9, 2026 | $2.3M | $1.0M | $1.3M | $2.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Nov 17, 2025 | $1.4M | $893K | $464K | $961K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2024 | $674K | $618K | $57K | $497K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2023 | $654K | $742K | −$87K | $441K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 14, 2022 | $746K | $672K | $74K | $528K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 12, 2021 | $808K | $668K | $140K | $454K | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $807,853 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 18 of 20 board members independent, 2 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $807,853 across 5 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $667,924 across 10 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $453,696 assets, 5 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $453,696 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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