South Carolina Childrens Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
992055663
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Columbia, SC, USA
Phone
8604861974
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,737,326
Expenses
$1,070,142
Assets
$981,865
Liabilities
$3,555

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRISTOPHER RESZKOWSKI (CEO)
  • JESSICA AARON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRISTOPHER RESZKOWSKI (CEO): $150,629 total reported compensation
  • NIKKI DICKENS (CHIEF PORTFO): $135,185 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 make strategic, catalytic investments and provide expertise and technical assistance to educational organizations across South Carolina.

What it reported doing in 2025

We support the growth and development of high-quality schools that are serving the highest-need students and families. We also support the advocacy and public awareness environment that leads to more elevated public discourse about the solution sets needed for students and families to access new educational opportunities. This often involves working alongside high-quality public charter school operators as they launch, grow, expand, and replicate; examples of investments include grants made to compass collegiate academy and liberty steam public charter schools. It also included a substantial public matching investment made to the post & courier's education lab and the national policy organization excelined.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 71% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 47.3%; rating input score 47
  • Program expense ratio: 76.2%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 38.4%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.92; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.7%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 50.7% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 53% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.8% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 47.3% of revenue deployed · 76.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $815K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $151K · 8 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 17 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 15 filed related-organization links
  • 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 47/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.