Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 2019.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
89 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.
Tauna Szymanski’s $100K as Executive Director & Legal Director is at the 83rd 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tauna Szymanski | $99,500 | $100,000 | $97,641 |
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 15aNo
Programs and updates
Advocates for children and adults unable to rely on speech, promoting their rights and interests through education and legal action.
Questions for Communication First
Your first name shows with your question. Communication First answers here, for everyone.
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Communicationfirst seeks to protect the rights and advance the interests of the estimated 5 million children and adults in the united states with significant speech-related disabilities. We work to advance systemic change through public engagement, policy and practice reform, and legal advocacy.
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 | $83K | $113K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $83K | $113K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $0 | $0 |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $83K | $113K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management feesLn 11a | $82K | $70K | $12K | |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $13K | $12K | $656 | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $7K | $7K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $118K | $118K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $2K | $2K | ||
| Information technologyLn 14 | $5K | $5K | ||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $720 | $720 | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $1K | $1K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $2K | $733 | $2K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $232K | $206K | $26K | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $1.9M | $458K | $1.5M | $2.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $739K | $467K | $272K | $612K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $228K | $385K | −$157K | $341K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $423K | $286K | $137K | $498K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $262K | $232K | $31K | $113K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $274K | $203K | $71K | $83K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $262,273 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 12 of 12 board members independent, 3 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $262,273 across 4 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $231,533 across 9 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $113,367 assets, 5 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $113,367 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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