Lyra incubates and accelerates high-impact education initiatives that tackle some of the biggest challenges facing education, deeply rooted in diverse and inclusive community voices.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
97¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$122K 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

FY2020 · 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
3 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $50K a year · 4% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
97%
of spending
Looks good: 97% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$122K
to officers and key staff · 10% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 10% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
7 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 7.2 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $240K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$200K
26% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 26% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
6
of 6 voting members
Looks good: 6 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
$1.1M
Spent
$1.3M
To programs
97%
Net assets
$562K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$1.1M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$1.1M
FY2021$1.5M
FY2022$1.3M
FY2023$3.1M
FY2024$608K
FY2025$747K
Expenses
$1.3M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$1.3M
FY2021$982K
FY2022$1.0M
FY2023$1.5M
FY2024$1.7M
FY2025$1.6M
Net assets
$562K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$562K
FY2021$1.1M
FY2022$1.4M
FY2023$3.0M
FY2024$1.9M
FY2025$1.1M

From the FY2020 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2020 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 Apr 2020.

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

Where the money goes

97 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 97% · $1.2M Management & general 3% · $40K

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

9 people listed on the 990; $122K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Denver Director
$68,921Pt VII · Sec A
Chief of Staff
$53,022Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Mary Seawell’s $239K as CEO is at the 99th 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 · 5 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Mary Seawell$239,146$220,964$106,258———
Meghan Sivakoff$194,263$173,728$164,398$41,843——
Elizabeth Harbaugh$145,972$118,363$113,695$82,918$20,156—
Felipe Vieyra————$103,542$68,921
Alana Romans—————$53,022

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 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Connects schools, educators, and students to transform education systems and the world.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $1.2M · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

We supported school district innovation and school autonomy statewide. Key activities to support this work included incentives to design innovation zones and zone-like structures and selecting ideas from applicants that advocate for autonomous zones as a critical tool for districts, schools, educators, and communities.

$1.2Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$240K
Grants paid · 75 grants · $2.5M · 2020–2025
Colorado SucceedsCO · FY2025$40,000
Colorado State UniversityFY2025$25,000
Individual RecipientFY2025$10,000
The Stead SchoolCO · FY2025$9,250
Steamboat Springs School DistrictFY2025$9,000
Poudre School District R-1FY2025$5,500
Luminary Learning NetworkCO · FY2024$300,000
Empower Schools INCMA · FY2024$45,000
Denver Public SchoolsFY2024$10,000
Poudre School District R-1FY2024$7,500
See all 75 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.1M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.1M
Investment incomeLn 3$655
Other incomeLn 4–11$243
Money outPt IX
$1.3M
Ln 25
Programscol B$1.2M
Managementcol C$40K
Owns and owesPt X
$562K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$758K
Total assetsLn 16$762K
LiabilitiesLn 26$200K
PeoplePt VI, VII
9
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a6
IndependentVI 1b6
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.1M
Investment incomeLn 3$655
Other incomeLn 4–11$243
Total revenueLn 12$1.1M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$228K
SavingsLn 2$530K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$758K
Total assetsLn 16$762K
LiabilitiesLn 26$200K
Net assetsLn 32$562K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 55
VolunteersI 65
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$759K$758K
Total assetsLn 16$759K$762K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0$200K
Net assetsLn 32$759K$562K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$875K$875K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$113K$107K$6K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$10K$10K$558
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$3K$2K$358
Other employee benefitsLn 9$5K$4K$642
Payroll taxesLn 10$9K$8K$515
Management feesLn 11a$30K$30K
Accounting feesLn 11c$11K$11K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$148K$134K$14K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$1K$610$691
Office expensesLn 13$3K$1K$2K
TravelLn 17$24K$24K$52
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$23K$23K
InsuranceLn 23$2K$2K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$3K$581$2K
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.3M$1.2M$40K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $747K$1.6M−$864K$1.1M 990 PDF
FY2024 $608K$1.7M−$1.1M$1.9M 990 PDF
FY2023 $3.1M$1.5M$1.6M$3.0M 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.3M$1.0M$260K$1.4M 990 PDF
FY2021 $1.5M$982K$539K$1.1M 990 PDF
FY2020 Viewing $1.1M$1.3M−$197K$562K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,063,398 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $851,231$1,062,500
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $411$655
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $0$243
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $851,642$1,063,398
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$874,800
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $0$139,497
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $92,770$245,730
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $92,770$1,260,027
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $758,872−$196,629
Part VI · Governance 6 of 6 board members independent, 3 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body6
VI-1b Independent voting members6
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,063,398 across 5 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$1,062,500
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,062,500
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $655$655
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $243$243
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $898$1,063,398
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,260,027 across 15 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $874,800$874,800
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $106,548 · Management $6,115$112,663
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $9,732 · Management $558$10,290
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $2,402 · Management $358$2,760
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $4,303 · Management $642$4,945
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $8,324 · Management $515$8,839
IX-11a Management feesPrograms $30,446$30,446
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $11,251$11,251
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $133,951 · Management $14,358$148,309
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $610 · Management $691$1,301
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $1,224 · Management $1,705$2,929
IX-17 TravelPrograms $23,723 · Management $52$23,775
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $23,486$23,486
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $1,542$1,542
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $581 · Management $2,110$2,691
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $1,220,130 · Management $39,897 · Fundraising $0$1,260,027
Part X · Balance sheet $762,393 assets, 11 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $407,230$227,852
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $351,642$529,797
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$4,744
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $758,872$762,393
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expenses$11,559
X-18 Grants payable$188,591
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $0$200,150
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $38,242−$252
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $720,630$562,495
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $758,872$562,243
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $758,872$762,393
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $562,243 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,063,398
XI-2 Total expenses$1,260,027
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$196,629
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$758,872
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$562,243

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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