The Social Engineering Project FY2023 filing

Tax-deductible

Oakland, CA501(c)(3)Since 2018EducationEIN 83-4147990

The Social Engineering Project, Inc. TSEP is an Oakland based, 501c3 tax exempt social impact venture with Stanford University designed to address the lack of diversity in the tech industry through culturally relevant STEM pipeline programs for underrepresented students of color that lead to technical career pathways.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
40¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$94K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2023 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 4
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $4K a year · 1% of revenue · last 4 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 2 of the last 4 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 4 filings
Spent on programs
40%
of spending
Concern: 40% of spending went to programs; under 50%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$94K
to officers and key staff · 23% of spending
Worth a look: pay to officers and key staff is 23% of spending; over 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
1 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 1.2 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $109K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$7K
14% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 14% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
5
of 6 voting members
Looks good: 5 of 6 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$365K
+27% vs prior year
Spent
$413K
To programs
40%
Net assets
$41K
By yearFY2021–FY2025
Revenue
$365K
FY2023▲ +27%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2021$166K
FY2022$287K
FY2023$365K
FY2024$405K
FY2025$267K
Expenses
$413K
FY2023▲ +95%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2021Not on file
FY2022$211K
FY2023$413K
FY2024$325K
FY2025$357K
Net assets
$41K
FY2023▼ -54%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2021$14K
FY2022$89K
FY2023$41K
FY2024$121K
FY2025$31K

From the FY2023 Form 990 · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 2020.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

40 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 40% · $163K Management & general 37% · $153K Fundraising 23% · $97K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Who runs it and what they're paid

6 people listed on the 990; $94K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$94,231Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Kevin Nichols’s $77K as Director is at the 69th 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Kevin Nichols$76,923$92,308$94,231$75,000$49,539

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 The Social Engineering Project executive salaries →

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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
  • Loans to or from officersSch L · Pt II1 listed

Programs and updates

Builds tech careers for underrepresented students of color through STEM programs.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until The Social Engineering Project claims this page.

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3 program services account for $156K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2023.
01

Science in the City ("SITC") is a week-long summer day camp at Stanford University for incoming 5th and 6th grade underrepresented students of color. SITC was created through a joint partnership with Stanford University Graduate School of Education's Science in the City Research Group and The Social Engineering Project, Inc.

$91Kprogram expense
02

TSEP Overnight Camping Conference is a weekend-long conference for high school students of color throughout Northern California designed to motivate and inspire them to go to college, pursue a STEM major and related career, learn about work/life balance through hiking, mindfulness and yoga, entrepreneurship, personal branding, and how to…

$54Kprogram expense
03

Family Science Days/Nights

Our goal is to provide free Family Science Days (?FSD?) throughout the school year to reinforce some of the scientific principles that we expose our students to and create a support group within families to continue to foster a love for math, science, technology, and engineering.

$12Kprogram expense

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Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
Tides FoundationFY2024$100K
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$109K

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$365K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$365K
Other incomeLn 4–11$55
Money outPt IX
$413K
Ln 25
Programscol B$163K
Managementcol C$153K
Fundraisingcol D$97K
Owns and owesPt X
$41K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$42K
Total assetsLn 16$47K
LiabilitiesLn 26$7K
PeoplePt VI, VII
6
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a6
IndependentVI 1b5
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$365K
Government grantsLn 1e$2K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$46K
Other incomeLn 4–11$55
Gains on assetsLn 7$0
Total revenueLn 12$365K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$42K
SavingsLn 2$0
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$42K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Other assetsLn 15$0
Total assetsLn 16$47K
LiabilitiesLn 26$7K
Net assetsLn 32$41K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 510
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aNo
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$96K$42K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Total assetsLn 16$96K$47K
LiabilitiesLn 26$7K$7K
Net assetsLn 32$89K$41K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$94K$57K$19K$19K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$10K$10K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$0
Payroll taxesLn 10$8K$5K$1K$1K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$5K$4K$900
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$12K$12K
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$19K$19K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$5K$3K$2K
Office expensesLn 13$4K$540$3K$90
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$7K$7K
TravelLn 17$49K$20K$29K
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$3K$3K
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$0
InsuranceLn 23$0
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$176K$37K$76K$64K
All other expensesLn 24e$21K$7K$14K
Total functional expensesLn 25$413K$163K$153K$97K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $267K$357K−$90K$31K 990 PDF
FY2024 $405K$325K$80K$121K 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $365K$413K−$48K$41K 990 PDF
FY2022 $287K$211K$75K$89K 990 PDF
FY2021 $166K$14K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2023 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $365,018 across 11 lines filed
VIII-1c Fundraising events$45,738
VIII-1e Government grants$2,000
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$317,225
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$364,963
VIII-3 Investment income$0
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assets$0
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $55$55
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $55$365,018
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $413,012 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $56,539 · Management $18,846 · Fundraising $18,846$94,231
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $10,500$10,500
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefits$0
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $5,128 · Management $1,442 · Fundraising $1,442$8,012
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $4,500 · Fundraising $900$5,400
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $11,500$11,500
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $19,125$19,125
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $3,050 · Management $1,598$4,648
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $540 · Management $3,242 · Fundraising $90$3,872
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyManagement $7,313$7,313
IX-17 TravelPrograms $20,306 · Management $28,502$48,808
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsManagement $2,769$2,769
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortization$0
IX-23 Insurance$0
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $36,749 · Management $75,582 · Fundraising $63,982$176,313
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $6,825 · Management $13,696$20,521
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $163,262 · Management $152,990 · Fundraising $96,760$413,012
Part X · Balance sheet $47,435 assets, 17 lines filed
Asset lines not itemized here account for $5,181; see the IRS return.
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $96,367$42,254
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investments$0
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$0
X-4 Accounts receivable$0
X-8 Inventories for sale or use$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$0
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, net$0
X-11 Publicly traded securities$0
X-12 Other securities$0
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assets$0
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $1$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $96,368$47,435
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $6,516$6,516
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $7,455$6,516
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $88,913$40,919
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $96,368$47,435
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $40,919 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$365,018
XI-2 Total expenses$413,012
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$47,994
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$88,913
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$40,919

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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