irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024
What they reported doing
- #1 primary $31KCOMMUNITY SPARKPLUGS - OUR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY PATNERSHIPS START WITH THE IDEA THAT CITIZENS IN THE COMMUNITY CAN CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT THAT GIVE CHILDREN THE OPPORTUNITIES THEY DESERVE. THEY END WITH RESULTS LIKE WALKING BRIGADES TO AND FROM SCHOOL, MOBILE FOOD BANKS, AND NEIGHBORHOOD FAMILY BOOK CLUBS.
- #2 $85KPARTNERSHIPS - HELPING PHILANTHROPY MOVE FROM FUNDER TO INVESTOR AND NONPROFITS FROM ACTIVITIES TO RESULTS
named programs · 4 · from sources
What they call their work
Bounce Buddies Basketball
Community-led program in Montgomery, Alabama serving children with autism ages 7–10, focusing on motor coordination, social confidence, and basketball fundamentals.
Community Sparkplugs
Supports community leaders in developing and scaling innovative, community-driven initiatives that improve educational opportunities and outcomes for young people. Projects include mobile food banks, walking brigades, and family book clubs.
Organizational Partnerships
Strategic consulting for nonprofits and civic agencies to design, implement, and measure equity-focused programs. Includes program design, data systems, stakeholder engagement, and scaling support.
School Transformation
Intensive partnership with schools and districts to improve student achievement through leadership development, data-driven instruction, and sustainable systems change. Includes coaching on six core strategies and leadership behaviors.
activities · 6 groups
What they do
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Community Capacity Building & Leadership Networks 1 activity
- Build leadership and organizational capacity in education and philanthropyPartners with educational leaders and communities to strengthen leadership, build local capacity, and create sustainable change using collaborative, data-driven approaches; operates programs to help philanthropy transition from funder to investor and nonprofits shift from activities to results.
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Leadership & Policy Dialogue Forums 1 activity
- Convene thought leaders on effective leadership in high-need communitiesBrings together national thought leaders to collaboratively discuss and advance models of strong, empowering leadership—particularly for high-need communities—with a focus on long-term impact by critical milestones such as 2026.
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Teacher Professional Development 1 activity
- Deliver school turnaround and transformation servicesSupports over 300 schools across 40–70 school districts nationwide through coaching, data-driven instructional systems, strategic planning, organizational alignment, and sustainable practice implementation to improve leadership capacity and student outcomes; achieved a 40% increase in reading and 20% in math in one school within one year.
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Adaptive Sports Programs 1 activity
- Deliver targeted youth programs in underserved communitiesLaunches and implements direct-service youth initiatives such as the Bounce Buddies Basketball Training Initiative for children with autism in Montgomery, Alabama, and supports infrastructure improvements like home construction and clean water access in partnership with entities such as the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma.
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Integrated Community-Led Development Programs 1 activity
- Implement Community SparkPlugs program in communitiesImplements the Community SparkPlugs program across hundreds of communities in 32 states, resulting in walking brigades to and from school, mobile food banks, neighborhood family book clubs, and community transformation initiatives.
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Nonprofit Capacity Building Services 1 activity
- Provide strategic consulting and capacity building for nonprofits and education organizationsOffers strategic consulting, program design, evaluation, scaling support, stakeholder engagement, and data system development to organizations focused on educational equity and outcomes; helps organizations build implementation and evaluation capacity and plan for sustainability.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$1.06M
Contributions & grants$931K88%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$133K12%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$1.37M
Program expenses58%
Admin / overhead39%
Fundraising2%
Salaries & benefits$855K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$2.14M
Cash$139K
Investments$1.98M
Liabilities$634K
Net assets$1.51M
Liquid reserves18.5 mo
3 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue -19.0%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 5
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| MILDRED TOLIVER | PRESIDENT | 40 | $175K |
| DR NICOLE JOHNSON | CHIEF PARTNERSHIP & OPPORT | 40 | $128K |
| TAMARA CHALVIRE | DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS | 40 | $110K |
| LORETTA BLANKS | EXEC DIRECTOR SCHOOL TURNA | 40 | $61K |
| BILLIE-JO SLINGERLAND | DIRECTOR COMM AND MARKETIN | 40 | $24K |
board members · 6
- BRUCE MENDELSOHN — TRUSTEE
- CLYDE E RANKIN III — TRUSTEE
- GEOFFREY PLATT — TRUSTEE
- JOSEPH SWIMMER ESQ — TRUSTEE
- LEON HAYNES — TRUSTEE
- THOMAS ROSS — TRUSTEE
relationships · 10
Who they work with
- Bryishun Pernell Partner — Partner implementing the Bounce Buddies Basketball Training Initiative
- Chaminade University Partner — Collaborated with TRI to design a course of study for potential principals using parts of TRI's leadership model.
- Cherokee Nation Partner — Partnered with TRI to build 25 homes and a 16-mile water line in Oklahoma.
- Hawaii Department of Education Partner — Partnered with TRI to implement School Turnaround initiatives in 44 schools between 2006 and 2017.
- Lowndes County Public Schools Partner — Partnered with Rensselaerville Institute on School Transformation and Community Sparkplugs interventions
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation Partner — Collaborated with Rensselaerville Institute on School Transformation and Community Sparkplugs interventions in Lowndes County Public Schools, Alabama
- communities Partner — Engages communities as co-creators in building capacity and driving educational change
- educational leaders Partner — Collaborates with educational leaders in communities to improve outcomes for young people
- principals and leadership teams Partner — Partners with school principals and leadership teams to build capacity and implement transformation strategies.
- tri-site Network — Co-branded website indicating affiliation with tri-site for organizational partnerships.
strategies · 4
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.
- Community-Driven Capacity Building and Prototyping 597 orgsmethodology: community-driven_capacity_buildingBy co-creating customized solutions and testing small-scale prototypes with communities, the organization enables iterative learning and sustainable, locally-led change because community ownership produces more effective and adaptable models than top-down approaches.shared approach: Community-Led Systems Change →
- Practitioner-Informed, On-the-Ground Implementation 597 orgsmethodology: practitioner-informed consultingBy integrating direct implementation experience with strategic consulting and grassroots engagement, the organization ensures practical effectiveness because strategies grounded in real-world practice are more likely to succeed in complex community and educational environments.shared approach: Community-Led Systems Change →
- Transformational Leadership with Measurable Results 597 orgsmethodology: results-based leadership frameworkBy combining a results-based leadership framework with transformational leadership and hands-on mentoring, the organization drives systemic change because measurable outcomes and structured strategies ensure accountability while empowering leaders to innovate within a clear performance-oriented model.shared approach: Community-Led Systems Change →
- School Transformation Through Leadership and Culturemethodology: comprehensive school transformationBy strengthening leadership practice, instruction, and organizational culture simultaneously, the organization transforms underperforming schools because systemic change requires more than incremental improvements—it demands a holistic shift in how schools operate and lead.