Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Oct 2021.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
71 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
10 people listed on the 990; $161K paid to officers and key staff.
Karin McWhorter’s $91K as Principal and Director is at the 26th 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karin McWhorter | $91,054 | $58,000 | $58,000 | $12,000 |
| Jennifer Staack-Kennerty | $70,320 | — | — | — |
| Mary Szucs | — | — | $45,001 | — |
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 15aYes
Programs and updates
Prepares high school juniors and seniors for college success.
Questions for Ascend College Prep
Your first name shows with your question. Ascend College Prep answers here, for everyone.
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At Ascend, we want our students to ask "why" we want them to dig deeper into the material instead of simply replicating the work they have been shown during a class. True learning is about so much more than memorizing formulas and steps.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $87K | $136K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $510K | $428K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $618K | $588K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $493K | $434K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $124K | $155K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $182K | $119K | $64K | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $174K | $157K | $17K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $29K | $22K | $7K | |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $14K | $12K | $2K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $9 | $8 | $1 | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $103K | $88K | $15K | |
| InterestLn 20 | $23K | $20K | $3K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $184K | $184K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $31K | $26K | $5K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $491K | $420K | $71K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $60K | $54K | $6K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.3M | $917K | $374K | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $1.3M | $1.3M | $31K | $155K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $1.1M | $975K | $140K | $124K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $759K | $762K | −$2K | −$16K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $392K | $407K | −$14K | −$13K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,321,852 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 8 of 8 board members independent, 2 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,321,852 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,291,285 across 11 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $588,285 assets, 14 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $154,728 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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