Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Aug 2023.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
79 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
17 people listed on the 990; $1.2M paid to officers and key staff.
Michelle Torgerson’s $322K as Director/President & CEO is at the 96th 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michelle Torgerson | $322,442 | $308,194 | $319,189 | $254,657 | $248,803 |
| Jennifer Ford | $177,807 | $160,970 | $166,574 | $131,153 | — |
| Michelle Hyman | $150,892 | $139,828 | $173,046 | $155,521 | — |
| Rebecca Armstrong | — | — | $171,266 | $138,628 | — |
| Jonathan Thornton | $167,212 | — | — | — | — |
| Rebecca Chrystal | $154,044 | $151,478 | — | — | — |
| Shelece Draper | $140,306 | — | — | — | — |
| Noelle Colome | — | $129,878 | $137,800 | — | — |
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
Helps families with young children develop and maintain home literacy habits essential for school success through a national network of community partners.
Questions for Raising a Reader
Your first name shows with your question. Raising a Reader answers here, for everyone.
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Raising A Reader (RAR) is a national nonprofit family engagement and literacy program that helps families develop, practice, and maintain home literacy habits essential for school success. RAR is operated through a diverse national network of affiliates (e.g., school systems, libraries, or community agencies) at more than 2,900 locations…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.9M | $1.8M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $27K | $22K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $4.4M | $3.9M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $558K | $503K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $3.9M | $3.4M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $279K | $279K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $545K | $241K | $241K | $62K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.9M | $1.5M | $168K | $158K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $92K | $80K | $9K | $3K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $391K | $296K | $66K | $29K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $174K | $133K | $26K | $15K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $111K | $111K | ||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $21K | $15K | $6K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $52K | $52K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $135K | $102K | $25K | $8K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $6K | $6K | $131 | $88 |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $66K | $53K | $6K | $7K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $133K | $75K | $46K | $12K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $20K | $20K | $128 | $85 |
| TravelLn 17 | $50K | $24K | $18K | $7K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $6K | $2K | $4K | $187 |
| InterestLn 20 | $4K | $315 | $4K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $10K | $10K | $26 | $775 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $15K | $11K | $2K | $1K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $1.4M | $1.4M | $14K | $176 |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $9K | $5K | $1K | $3K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $5.4M | $4.2M | $800K | $307K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest Viewing | $4.9M | $5.4M | −$442K | $3.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $5.7M | $4.8M | $918K | $3.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $5.0M | $4.7M | $319K | $2.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $3.6M | $3.9M | −$257K | $2.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $3.2M | $3.2M | −$27K | $2.9M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $4,911,900 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 10 of 11 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $4,911,900 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $5,354,343 across 21 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $3,927,013 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $3,423,778 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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