Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jun 2018.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Who runs it and what they're paid
8 people listed on the 990-EZ; $12K paid to officers and key staff.
Diana Chao’s $60K as Executive Dir. is at the 46th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2094 $100K–1M mental health 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 · 7 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diana Chao | $60,000 | $7,692 | — |
| Pearl Lee | — | — | $3,600 |
| Helen Chen | — | — | $3,600 |
| Dan Kanceljak | — | — | $2,268 |
| Timothy Liyada | — | — | $1,125 |
| Alyssa Vassel | — | — | $1,000 |
| Clayton Becker | — | — | $800 |
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 Letters to Strangers executive salaries →Programs and updates
Destigmatize mental illness and improve access to affordable treatment for youth.
Questions for Letters to Strangers
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Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2023 990-EZ, line by line.
Download 990
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS May 14, 2026 | $160K | $182K | −$22K | $270K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS May 12, 2025 | $371K | $123K | $248K | $292K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 ViewingFiled with the IRS Apr 1, 2024 | $100K | $49K | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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