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CHESS-IN-THE-SCHOOLS INC
NEW YORK, NY · EIN 136119036 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE N50Z · Recreation & Sports · Medium ($1M-$10M)
revenue
$2.8M
expenses
$2.9M
net assets
$18.9M
employees
83
volunteers
17
program ratio
85%
mission · from form 990

TO FOSTER THE INTELLECTUAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF LOW-INCOME YOUTH THROUGH CHESS EDUCATION.

profile · synthesized from sources

Nonprofit organization based in New York City that fosters the intellectual and social development of low-income youth through chess education. Delivers scholastic chess tournaments and college preparatory support to K–12 students across the city. Programs focus on academic enrichment and college readiness for underserved youth.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $553K
    SCHOLASTIC TOURNAMENT PROGRAM:THE SCHOLASTIC TOURNAMENT PROGRAM OFFERS COMPETITIVE CHESS TOURNAMENTS IN NEW YORK CITY. CHESS IN THE SCHOOLS RAN AND ORGANIZED 36 SCHOLASTIC TOURNAMENTS FOR KINDERGARTEN - 12TH GRADE STUDENTS. 17 WERE IN-PERSON AND 19 WERE HOSTED ONLINE. THE TOURNAMENTS WERE OPEN TO ALL NEW YORK CITY CHILDREN.
  2. #2 $543K
    COLLEGE BOUND PROGRAM: THE COLLEGE BOUND PROGRAM PROVIDES COMPREHENSIVE COLLEGE PREPARATORY SERVICES TO HELP OUR STUDENTS GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL ON TIME AND ATTEND COLLEGE. FOR THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR, WE WORKED WITH 95 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. 100% OF THE GRADUATING CLASS GRADUATED ON TIME AND 100% OF SENIORS MATRICULATED TO COLLEGE.
named programs · 2 · from sources

What they call their work

College Bound Program
Provides comprehensive college preparatory services to high school students, supporting on-time graduation and college matriculation. Served approximately 95–100 students annually, with 100% graduation and college enrollment rates in recent years.
Scholastic Tournament Program
Organizes competitive chess tournaments for K–12 students in New York City, with both in-person and online events. Open to all NYC children, averaging 36 tournaments annually.
activities · 7 groups

What they do

  • Youth & Community Chess Education 2 activities
    • Supporting student participation in national chess competitions
      Prepares and supports NYC middle and high school students to compete in national scholastic chess championships through targeted coaching, practice sessions, travel coordination, and logistical support for events in cities such as Orlando, Atlanta, and Texas.
    • Teaching chess in NYC public schools
      Provides structured chess instruction to approximately 6,000 elementary and junior high school students annually across about 48 New York City public schools, including during-school-year and summer programming.
  • Teacher & Classroom Innovation Grants 1 activity
    • Awarding grants through the National Educator of the Year Program
      Funds the National Educator of the Year Award, providing $10,000 awards split between winning educators and their affiliated organizations, along with $2,000 awards for finalists, to recognize excellence in chess education.
  • College Access and Success Support 1 activity
    • Operating the College Bound and College Success Programs
      Runs the College Bound Program for high school students, particularly alumni of the School Program, providing college readiness support; also operates the College Success Program launched in 2021 to assist enrolled college students with FAFSA renewal, transfers, and networking; consistently achieves 100% high school graduation and college acceptance rates.
  • Student Organization Funding and Support 1 activity
    • Operating the Grand Prix tournament funding system
      Administers a Grand Prix system that awards funding to student chess teams based on tournament performance and attendance, enabling travel to regional and national events.
  • Youth Sports Community Events 1 activity
    • Organizing scholastic chess tournaments
      Organizes and hosts in-person and online scholastic chess tournaments for K–12 students in New York City, including regular events and special tournaments such as the Chess in the Park Rapid Open; hosted 36 tournaments in 2021 (17 in-person, 19 online) and 88 remote events in 2020 due to the pandemic.
  • Youth and Community Sports Officiating Development 1 activity
    • Preparing students for leadership in chess events
      Trains students for leadership roles in chess tournaments, including preparation for roles such as tournament directors.
  • Teacher Professional Development 1 activity
    • Training educators in chess instruction
      Builds capacity in public schools by training over 2,000 New York City educators to implement chess programs through free workshops and digital resources.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$2.80M
Contributions & grants$1.78M64%
Program service revenue$239K9%
Investment income$783K28%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$2.90M
Program expenses85%
Admin / overhead9%
Fundraising6%
Salaries & benefits$2.12M
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$19.53M
Cash$132K
Investments$17.52M
Liabilities$677K
Net assets$18.85M
Liquid reserves72.9 mo
6 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue -10.0%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 3
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
JENNY INGBER PRESIDENT & CEO 40 $226K
SHAUN SMITH PROGRAMS DIRECTOR 40 $106K
ALLEN KAUFMAN FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 0 $63K
board members · 16
  • ANDREW LERNER — DIRECTOR
  • BEN STATZ — DIRECTOR
  • CHUN LIN — DIRECTOR
  • CODY SMITH — TREASURER
  • DANN RYAN — SECRETARY & COMPLIANCE OFF
  • DHRUV SHARMA — DIRECTOR
  • DR JOEL MARCUS — DIRECTOR
  • GARY LI — DIRECTOR
  • KWAD ACHEAMPONG — DIRECTOR
  • LAWRENCE BENENSON — DIRECTOR
  • MARK MAHER — BOARD CHAIRPERSON
  • MIKE WALSH PEISSIS — DIRECTOR
  • OCHE IDOKO — DIRECTOR
  • PARIS HEYMANN — DIRECTOR
  • PRAJU DOSHI — DIRECTOR
  • VIKRAM SIVAKURMAR — DIRECTOR
relationships · 15

Who they work with

  • 582K Partner — Collaborates with school 582K to prepare students for national scholastic chess competitions through coaching and team development.
  • 582K Partner — School partner whose students participate in Chess in the Schools programs and national competitions.
  • Andy Lerner Funder — Award supporter and board member who supports the Andy Lerner Award for Excellence in Chess Education.
  • Bank of America Partner — Hosts events with Chess in the Schools for alumni as part of the College Success Program.
  • Camp Ramapo Partner — Partners with Camp Ramapo in Rhinebeck, NY to provide summer chess programming for disadvantaged New York City children with special needs.
  • Central Park Partner — Hosted the 2024 Chess in the Park Rapid Open at Bethesda Fountain within Central Park.
  • Chesskid.com Partner — Provides free one-year gold memberships to students through a partnership with Chesskid.com, an online chess learning platform.
  • I.S. 180K Partner — School partner where students receive chess instruction and tournament preparation support
  • I.S. 180K Partner — School partner whose students participate in Chess in the Schools programs and national competitions.
  • J & K Pi Family Foundation Inc. Partner — Sponsored a chess tournament hosted by CHESS-IN-THE-SCHOOLS INC.
  • KCF All Girls National Chess Championship Partner — Facilitates student participation in this national tournament event.
  • Mr. Moy Partner — Collaborates with CIS instructors to organize tournaments and support student preparation for Nationals.
  • New York City Council Funder — Funded the Professional Learning program that has trained over 2,000 teachers.
  • P.S/M.S. 279X Partner — Hosts a chess program supported by Chess in the Schools, preparing students for national competition.
  • P.S/M.S. 279X Partner — School partner whose students participate in Chess in the Schools programs and national competitions.
strategies · 3

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Chess as a Vehicle for Life Skills and Cognitive Development
    methodology: chess-for-cognitive-development
    By teaching chess, the organization develops critical thinking, problem-solving, mental discipline, and life skills such as resilience, focus, and perseverance in students, because structured gameplay and competitive experiences provide experiential opportunities to practice and reinforce these skills in a high-stakes yet safe environment.
  • Peer and Alumni-Led Mentorship Model
    methodology: peer_coaching
    By leveraging peer coaching and alumni-to-alumni support networks, the organization sustains student motivation and supports college success, because shared lived experiences and near-peer relationships create more relatable, trusted, and effective mentorship than traditional top-down models.
  • Progressive Challenge and Deliberate Practice
    methodology: deliberate_practice_against_elite_players
    By placing students in progressively more challenging competitions and emphasizing deliberate, error-focused play against stronger opponents, the organization accelerates skill development, because sustained exposure to strategic difficulty builds expertise more effectively than repetitive success at lower levels.