Brightbeam INC

Tax-deductible

Rochester, MI501(c)(3)EIN 85-3504131Revenue $624K in FY2025

On file with the IRSbrightbeamnetwork.org511 Olde Towne Rd Unit 80548, 48308-7721 · Rochester, MITax-exempt since Jul 2021Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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Brightbeam shines a light on those fighting for and providing a rich/high-quality/humane education for our nation's children and the barriers they face. Our mission is to inspire americans to demand safe, affirming, accountable education options where every child learns and thrives. Brightbeam's role is to inform and ignite this emerging movement for childhood thriving and educational opportunity through our platforms and with our partners. Through compelling digital content, Brightbeam builds public understanding and support for our education issues and our partners, spotlights stories of great work in action, and moves citizens to use their influence on behalf of childhood thriving and educational opportunity. An important measure of our impact is our network, from individuals consuming our content to on-the-ground partners. That's why we have set a goal of supporting one million americans in using their personal influence to fight for our issues and those of our partners by 2025.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
74¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 8 volunteers.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · 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 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $169K a year · 8% of revenue · last 5 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 2 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
74%
of spending
Fine: 74% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$623K
to officers and key staff · 29% of spending
Worth a look: pay to officers and key staff is 29% of spending; over 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
4 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 3.7 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $56K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$46K
6% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 6% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
5
of 5 voting members
Looks good: 5 of 5 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$624K
-69% vs prior year
Spent
$2.1M
To programs
74%
Net assets
$704K
By yearFY2021–FY2025
Revenue
$624K
FY2025▼ -69%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2021$1.9M
FY2022$2.9M
FY2023$3.3M
FY2024$2.0M
FY2025$624K
Expenses
$2.1M
FY2025-0.3%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2021$0
FY2022$3.2M
FY2023$2.4M
FY2024$2.2M
FY2025$2.1M
Net assets
$704K
FY2025▼ -68%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2021$1.9M
FY2022$1.5M
FY2023$2.4M
FY2024$2.2M
FY2025$704K

From the FY2025 Form 990 · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 2021.

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

Where the money goes

74 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 74% · $1.6M Management & general 20% · $425K Fundraising 6% · $131K

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

8 people listed on the 990; $623K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Chief Executive Officer
$308,541Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Marketing Officer
$192,072Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary/Ptnr Finance & Ops
$122,173Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022
Christopher Stewart$308,541$314,667$316,795—
Christopher a Stewart———$301,042
Leslie Guggenheim———$193,338
Cynthia Wakeford$192,072$191,226$154,904—
Ikhlas Saleem———$126,710
Lane Wright———$122,238
Donnell Green$122,173$118,706$115,564$116,685
Maureen Kelleher———$116,555

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

Highlights efforts for quality education and inspires action for children's success.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $1.6M · in their own filed words · FY2025
01

Offering education to the public through forums and dialogue to develop broad-based and research-driven solutions for improving education.

$1.6Mprogram expense

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 · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$56K

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$624K
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$421K
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$163K
Investment incomeLn 3$40K
Money outPt IX
$2.1M
Ln 25
Programscol B$1.6M
Managementcol C$425K
Fundraisingcol D$131K
Owns and owesPt X
$704K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$668K
Total assetsLn 16$750K
LiabilitiesLn 26$46K
PeoplePt VI, VII
8
listed · VII A
PaidVII A3
Voting boardVI 1a5
IndependentVI 1b5
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$163K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$56K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$421K
Investment incomeLn 3$40K
Total revenueLn 12$624K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$377K
SavingsLn 2$291K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$668K
Total assetsLn 16$750K
LiabilitiesLn 26$46K
Net assetsLn 32$704K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 50
VolunteersI 68
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.8M$668K
Total assetsLn 16$2.4M$750K
LiabilitiesLn 26$174K$46K
Net assetsLn 32$2.2M$704K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$195$195
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$523K$243K$175K$105K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$416K$404K$10K$2K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$12K$8K$2K$1K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$81K$56K$17K$7K
Payroll taxesLn 10$56K$39K$13K$4K
Legal feesLn 11b$39K$39K
Accounting feesLn 11c$74K$74K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$750K$738K$4K$9K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$37K$37K
Office expensesLn 13$6K$4K$977$537
Information technologyLn 14$121K$39K$82K$597
TravelLn 17$16K$16K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$4K$4K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$4K$4K
InsuranceLn 23$11K$6K$3K$2K
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.1M$1.6M$425K$131K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $624K$2.1M−$1.5M$704K 990 PDF
FY2024 $2.0M$2.2M−$161K$2.2M 990 PDF
FY2023 $3.3M$2.4M$884K$2.4M 990 PDF
FY2022 $2.9M$3.2M−$251K$1.5M 990 PDF
FY2021 $1.9M$0$1.9M$1.9M 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 FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $624,106 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $1,331,640$163,088
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $579,948$420,639
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $84,441$40,379
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $0$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $1,996,029$624,106
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$195
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $1,049,408$1,088,188
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $1,107,620$1,061,134
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $2,157,028$2,149,517
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$160,999−$1,525,411
Part VI · Governance 5 of 5 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body5
VI-1b Independent voting members5
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $624,106 across 7 lines filed
VIII-1d Related organizations$56,039
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$107,049
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$56,039
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$163,088
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $420,639$420,639
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $40,379$40,379
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $420,639 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $40,379$624,106
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,149,517 across 16 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $195$195
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $243,467 · Management $175,105 · Fundraising $104,631$523,203
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $403,503 · Management $10,230 · Fundraising $2,381$416,114
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $8,334 · Management $2,425 · Fundraising $1,328$12,087
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $56,397 · Management $17,409 · Fundraising $6,986$80,792
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $38,622 · Management $13,143 · Fundraising $4,227$55,992
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $38,822$38,822
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $74,137$74,137
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $738,145 · Management $3,548 · Fundraising $8,728$750,421
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $36,649$36,649
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $4,463 · Management $977 · Fundraising $537$5,977
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $38,765 · Management $81,600 · Fundraising $597$120,962
IX-17 TravelPrograms $15,544$15,544
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $3,627$3,627
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationManagement $4,264$4,264
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $5,803 · Management $3,184 · Fundraising $1,744$10,731
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $1,593,514 · Management $424,844 · Fundraising $131,159$2,149,517
Part X · Balance sheet $750,326 assets, 13 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $0$377,030
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $1,829,726$290,519
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $553,677$1,287
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $14,945$81,490
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $2,402,807$750,326
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $49,591$46,471
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $58,560$0
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $65,390$0
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $173,541$46,471
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $909,073$703,855
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $1,320,193$0
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $2,229,266$703,855
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $2,402,807$750,326
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $703,855 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$624,106
XI-2 Total expenses$2,149,517
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$1,525,411
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$2,229,266
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$703,855

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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