It Starts in the Classroominc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
994316576
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025
Location
Pinellas Park, FL, USA
Phone
7276869916
Rating
56
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Reported finances

Revenue
$114,344
Expenses
$132,179
Assets
$70,342
Liabilities
$60,000

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LISA HUSS (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • TRACY CARR (TREASURER)
  • LISA HUSS (PRESIDENT)
  • KONTONIA FOWLER (SECRETARY)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

It starts in the classroom is dedicated to supporting locatl educators by providing them with the essential supplies they need for their classrooms, alleviating the financial burden often placed on teachers whi dip into their own pockets to ensure their students have the tools for learning. Our mission is rooted in the belief that every student deserves access to quality education, and by equipping teachers with the necessary resources, we aim to enhance the learning experience for students while fostering a supportive environment for educators.

What it reported doing in 2025

It starts in the classroom distributed school supplies throughout the year to title i elementary school teachers in pinellas county. Our goal is to serve an increasing number of teachers each year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 71% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 93% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 30
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 31%; rating input score 31
  • Program expense ratio: 26.8%; rating input score 27

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -15.6%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.53; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.85; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 45.4%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -92.8% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -9% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -10.5% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 31% of revenue deployed · 26.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 2 filed program accomplishments · $35K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 31/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.