Dallas Education Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
205533398
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2012, Form 990-T 2025, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Dallas, TX, USA
Phone
9729253053
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,488,628
Expenses
$2,912,825
Assets
$5,152,661
Liabilities
$99,737

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • VICTOR VITAL (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • MITA HAVLICK (Executive Dir.): $19,615 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the Dallas Education Foundation is to inspire community investment that accelerates success for all 140,000+ Dallas ISD students. As the non-profit, philanthropic partner of Dallas ISD, we align with the districts strategic initiatives and partner with our citys business leaders, residents, and philanthropic community to raise funds for programs that enrich the lives of our students. Through generous contributions from private individuals and our corporate and philanthropic partners, the Dallas Education Foundation drives innovative programming, provides our students with fundamental needs, and supports our teachers to ensure the greatest impact possible.

What it reported doing in 2025

Through generous contributions from private individuals and our corporate and philanthropic partners, DEF drives innovative programming, provides our students with fundamental needs, and supports our teachers to ensure the greatest impact possible. DEF aligns and collaborates with Dallas ISDs Academic Services, Strategic Initiatives, School Leadership, Information Technology, Operations, and Human Capital Management Departments to ensure our funding initiatives are aligned with the strategic priorities of Dallas ISD. Driving Postsecondary Success - $242,775 DEF grant to Dallas ISD for a suite of AI tools to analyze middle school math classroom artifacts, providing data-driven feedback to enhance instructional coaching, and drive continuous improvement. September 4, 2025 Driving Postsecondary Success $213,285 DEF grant to Dallas ISD for a Career Exploration Trailer. July 31, 2025 Driving Postsecondary Success - $218,175 DEF grant to Dallas ISD for a 2nd Career Exploration Trailer and Mobile Lab equipment and wrap purchase to deploy in 2025-2026 school year. October 17, 2025

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 87% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 95% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88.6%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $32.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -17%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.77; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.7%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $20K · 20 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $644K reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.