Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Apr 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
8 people listed on the 990; $861K paid to officers and key staff.
Chad Rountree’s $307K as CEO/Director is at the 96th 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chad Rountree | $307,276 | $276,775 | $266,599 | $219,893 | — |
| Paymon Rouhanifard | $60,200 | $61,200 | $170,232 | $282,677 | $276,861 |
| Debra Kurshan | $257,554 | $252,082 | $236,001 | $229,970 | $209,397 |
| Patricia Diaz-Andrade | $246,033 | — | — | — | — |
| Claire Cosenze | $240,247 | $230,817 | $228,017 | — | — |
| Andrea Wolfe | — | $235,447 | $226,403 | $168,610 | — |
| John Childers | $185,331 | $185,839 | $175,896 | — | — |
| Kelly Morris | $170,658 | $170,033 | — | — | — |
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 Propel America 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
Helps students gain skills and connections for well-paying jobs and further education within a year.
Questions for Propel America
Your first name shows with your question. Propel America answers here, for everyone.
Propel brings together high schools, community colleges, and employers in a unified system of skill-building, job placement, and ongoing planning for young adults. The model includes a "core course" in or directly after high school, in which students determine their job pathway and begin to prepare for it.
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 | $1.4M | $1.9M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.4M | $1.9M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $58K | $156K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $1.4M | $1.8M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $62K | $62K | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $194K | $194K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $503K | $313K | $68K | $122K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $782K | $747K | $22K | $13K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $10K | $10K | ||
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $64K | $57K | $5K | $1K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $89K | $76K | $6K | $7K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $27K | $27K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $615K | $536K | $78K | $939 |
| TravelLn 17 | $29K | $24K | $2K | $3K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $10K | $4K | $6K | $255 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $84K | $73K | $11K | $75 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $2.5M | $2.1M | $224K | $148K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Jul 7, 2025 | $8.4M | $7.8M | $619K | $9.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Jun 26, 2024 | $12.0M | $6.2M | $5.8M | $8.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Jul 19, 2023 | $5.0M | $5.4M | −$442K | $3.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Jul 28, 2022 | $6.1M | $4.3M | $1.8M | $3.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Sep 9, 2021 | $2.9M | $2.5M | $421K | $1.8M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,890,113 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 3 of 4 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,890,113 across 3 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,469,017 across 12 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $1,934,406 assets, 11 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,778,812 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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