Auntie Karen Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 571131878
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Columbia, SC, USA
- Phone
- 8033198862
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Youth Development Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,102,726
- Expenses
- $1,132,365
- Assets
- $317,959
- Liabilities
- $170,144
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Karen Alexander-Banks (President)
- Toshia Addison (Vice President)
- Mildred Branch (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Karen Alexander-Banks (President): $100,015 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Founded in 2001, The Auntie Karen Foundation empowers, enlightens, and educates through the arts. For nearly 25 years, the Foundation has created innovative educational experiences that strengthen academic achievement, inspire creativity, develop future leaders, and expand economic opportunity. Through strategic partnerships with schools, colleges, government agencies, businesses, artists, and nonprofit organizations, the Foundation serves children, youth, educators, artists, and families throughout South Carolina, with a special emphasis on rural and historically underserved communities.
What it reported doing in 2025
Artpreneur: Arts in Education - Throughout 2025, the Foundation continued its longstanding partnerships with public school districts throughout South Carolina to provide Arts in Education and STEAM programming, with a special emphasis on rural and underserved communities. Programs continued in school districts including Williamsburg County School District, Marion County School District, and Colleton County School District, where professional teaching artists collaborated with educators to integrate the arts into classroom instruction. Students participated in visual arts, music, dance, theatre, creative writing, entrepreneurship, and arts integration experiences that increased student engagement, strengthened academic achievement, encouraged creativity, and supported social and emotional learning. The Foundation also continued providing professional development that equips educators with innovative arts integration strategies to enhance teaching and learning across multiple subject areas. The Foundation continued its longstanding partnerships with public school districts, colleges and universities, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, artists, businesses, and community leaders throughout South Carolina. These collaborations expanded educational opportunities, strengthened communities, and increased access to high-quality arts education, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and creative learning experiences. A significant milestone during 2025 was the purchase of the Foundation's first permanent office building. This investment established a long-term headquarters that will support expanded educational programming, curriculum development, artist services, educator training, community engagement, and organizational sustainability for generations to come. As The Auntie Karen Foundation approaches its 25th Anniversary, it remains committed to empowering, enlightening, and educating through the arts. By combining arts education, entrepreneurship, career readiness, emerging technology, and strategic partnerships, the Foundation continues to prepare children, educators, artists, and communities for success while creating lasting opportunities that strengthen South Carolina and inspire future generations. Since its founding in 2001, The Auntie Karen Foundation has remained committed to its belief that creativity is a pathway to educational excellence, economic opportunity, and stronger communities. Through innovative programming, strategic partnerships, and a commitment to serving all learners, the Foundation continues to transform lives by empowering individuals to discover their gifts, develop their talents, and build a legacy of leadership and service.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 92% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 49
- Sustainability: 21
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 94.4%; rating input score 94
- Program expense ratio: 91.9%; rating input score 92
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -2.7%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.54; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 24.8% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 22.8% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 94.4% of revenue deployed · 91.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.