Children Now is a nonpartisan whole-child research, policy development, communications, and advocacy organization working on all key kids issues, and dedicated to promoting childrens health, education, and overall well-being in California. Children Now also leads The Childrens Movement of California the member-based Pro-Kid constituency, that represents a diverse network of more than 4,600 business, youth, parent, civil rights, and faith- and community-based organizations, and others, as well as thousands of individuals throughout the state, that seek to learn more about how children are faring in California. Members receive information and research about childrens policy issues so that they can better support kids well-being.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
82¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 22 volunteers and 44 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · 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
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $308K a year · 4% of revenue · last 5 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
82%
of spending
Looks good: 82% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.7M
to officers and key staff · 21% of spending
Worth a look: pay to officers and key staff is 21% of spending; over 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
15 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 14.9 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $150K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$1.5M
10% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 10% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
8
of 9 voting members
Looks good: 8 of 9 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$9.9M
+86% vs prior year
Spent
$8.1M
To programs
82%
Net assets
$13.5M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$9.9M
FY2024▲ +86%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$6.9M
FY2021$7.6M
FY2022$9.1M
FY2023$5.3M
FY2024$9.9M
Expenses
$8.1M
FY2024▲ +3%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$7.5M
FY2021$6.6M
FY2022$7.4M
FY2023$7.9M
FY2024$8.1M
Net assets
$13.5M
FY2024▲ +16%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$11.4M
FY2021$12.4M
FY2022$14.2M
FY2023$11.7M
FY2024$13.5M

From the FY2024 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Apr 1993.

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

Where the money goes

82 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 82% · $6.7M Management & general 11% · $863K Fundraising 7% · $581K

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

15 people listed on the 990; $1.7M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$461,188Pt VII · Sec A
SR Managing Dir
$269,502Pt VII · Sec A
VP, Policy & Prog
$268,966Pt VII · Sec A
VP, Ops. & Eng.
$238,208Pt VII · Sec A
SR Managing Dir
$216,469Pt VII · Sec A
SR Managing Dir
$206,615Pt VII · Sec A
Affil Rel Comm.
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Edward Lempert’s $461K as President is at the 99th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3869 $1–10M human services 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

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Edward Lempert$461,188$602,802$437,643$424,182$580,900
Adrienne Bell———$248,417$300,548
Susanna Kniffen$269,502$208,034$200,697$236,481$171,620
Vincent Stewart$268,966$260,981$251,055$216,004$200,525
Kristi Schutjer-Mance——$138,559$250,709$242,605
Alex Matias$238,208$220,849———
Kelly Hardy$206,615—$237,930—$173,813
Stacy Lee$216,469$208,099$196,961$187,105—

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

Advocates for children's health, education, and well-being through research and policy in California.

Questions for Children Now

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $6.5M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

HealthChildren Nows health program focuses on ensuring that children pre-natal to age 26 have meaningful and equitable access to high-quality, culturally responsive, affordable health care, including physical, behavioral, and oral health care services, and other key services like home visiting and developmental screenings that are vital…

$2.8Mprogram expense
02

EducationChildren Nows education program aims to ensure every child has access to high-quality early learning opportunities, a rigorous TK-12 education, including high-quality STEM, afterschool and summer programs, and access to affordable higher education.

$2.7Mprogram expense
03

Child WelfareChildren Nows child welfare program works to address the comprehensive health, education, and social service needs of children in the child welfare system. Through our research, policy development, education, and communications efforts, we have achieved the following: successfully protected the Family Urgent Response System…

$1.0Mprogram 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 2 funders$150K

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$9.9M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$9.2M
Investment incomeLn 3$368K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$304K
Money outPt IX
$8.1M
Ln 25
Programscol B$6.7M
Managementcol C$863K
Fundraisingcol D$581K
Owns and owesPt X
$13.5M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$10.1M
Total assetsLn 16$15.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.5M
PeoplePt VI, VII
15
listed · VII A
PaidVII A6
Voting boardVI 1a9
IndependentVI 1b8
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$9.2M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$304K
Investment incomeLn 3$368K
Other incomeLn 4–11$83K
Gains on assetsLn 7$7K
Total revenueLn 12$9.9M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$63K
SavingsLn 2$10.0M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$10.1M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Other assetsLn 15$506K
Total assetsLn 16$15.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.5M
Net assetsLn 32$13.5M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 544
VolunteersI 622
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 FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$10.5M$10.1M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Total assetsLn 16$13.6M$15.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.9M$1.5M
Net assetsLn 32$11.7M$13.5M
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$461K$387K$46K$28K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$4.8M$4.0M$473K$308K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$274K$229K$27K$18K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$764K$637K$76K$50K
Payroll taxesLn 10$348K$290K$35K$23K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$6K$6K
Accounting feesLn 11c$32K$32K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$468K$375K$73K$20K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$0
Office expensesLn 13$0
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$564K$436K$71K$58K
TravelLn 17$59K$58K$616$658
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$62K$52K$6K$5K
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$0
InsuranceLn 23$30K$23K$4K$3K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$204K$132K$9K$63K
All other expensesLn 24e$43K$33K$5K$4K
Total functional expensesLn 25$8.1M$6.7M$863K$581K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest Viewing $9.9M$8.1M$1.8M$13.5M 990 PDF
FY2023 $5.3M$7.9M−$2.5M$11.7M 990 PDF
FY2022 $9.1M$7.4M$1.8M$14.2M 990 PDF
FY2021 $7.6M$6.6M$986K$12.4M 990 PDF
FY2020 $6.9M$7.5M−$545K$11.4M 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 J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $9,915,882 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $4,534,242$9,160,923
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $388,224$303,944
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $369,498$368,486
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $47,230$82,529
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $5,339,194$9,915,882
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $6,430,443$6,628,389
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $1,419,751$1,468,703
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $7,850,194$8,097,092
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$2,511,000$1,818,790
Part VI · Governance 8 of 9 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body9
VI-1b Independent voting members8
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 $9,915,882 across 10 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$9,160,923
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$9,160,923
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $303,944$303,944
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $361,659$361,659
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $6,827$6,827
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $82,529$82,529
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $303,944 · Excluded from tax $451,015$9,915,882
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $8,097,092 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 $387,398 · Management $46,119 · Fundraising $27,671$461,188
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $4,001,271 · Management $472,824 · Fundraising $308,147$4,782,242
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $228,961 · Management $27,075 · Fundraising $17,520$273,556
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $637,194 · Management $76,105 · Fundraising $50,499$763,798
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $289,562 · Management $34,957 · Fundraising $23,086$347,605
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $5,713$5,713
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $32,500$32,500
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $374,607 · Management $73,284 · Fundraising $20,496$468,387
IX-12 Advertising and promotion$0
IX-13 Office expenses$0
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $435,676 · Management $70,674 · Fundraising $57,947$564,297
IX-17 TravelPrograms $57,635 · Management $616 · Fundraising $658$58,909
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $52,002 · Management $5,547 · Fundraising $4,790$62,339
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortization$0
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $23,443 · Management $3,804 · Fundraising $3,118$30,365
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $131,877 · Management $8,906 · Fundraising $62,857$203,640
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $33,269 · Management $4,922 · Fundraising $4,362$42,553
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $6,652,895 · Management $863,046 · Fundraising $581,151$8,097,092
Part X · Balance sheet $15,011,261 assets, 20 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $77,480$62,986
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $10,437,445$10,003,616
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $1,948,934$4,302,259
X-4 Accounts receivable$0
X-8 Inventories for sale or use$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $130,864$135,943
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 $1,004,415$506,457
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $13,599,138$15,011,261
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $528,292$570,374
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $1,361,907$913,158
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $1,890,199$1,483,532
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $6,891,232$6,907,430
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $4,817,707$6,620,299
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $11,708,939$13,527,729
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $13,599,138$15,011,261
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $13,527,729 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$9,915,882
XI-2 Total expenses$8,097,092
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$1,818,790
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$11,708,939
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$13,527,729

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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