Raise the Barr

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
811234771
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Hawthorne, CA, USA
Phone
3109387231
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Parent Agencies

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,946,944
Expenses
$2,169,867
Assets
$1,398,699
Liabilities
$73,078

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Lori Barr (CEO/Co-founder)
  • Anthony Barr (Co-founder/President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Lori Barr (CEO/Co-founder): $181,874 total reported compensation
  • Patricia Healy (Chief Advancement): $160,826 total reported compensation
  • Stephanie Sandler (Chief Impact Officer): $151,150 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To increase opportunity and economic mobility for low-income single-parent students and their children through higher education. We aim to reduce the generational impacts of poverty through programs including access to affordable housing, educational and career advising, mentorship, financial literacy, and family wellness.

What it reported doing in 2025

Refer to Schedule O.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 69% for direct work, and 31% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.2%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 81.8%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th 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; 78th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -11.4%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.64; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.8%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 32.5% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.6% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.2% of revenue deployed · 81.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $182K · 18 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.