Sparknc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
921765886
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Raleigh, NC, USA
Phone
9196040895
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$109,739
Expenses
$4,188,940
Assets
$5,014,042
Liabilities
$13,391

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LYNN MOODY (PRESIDENT)
  • DANA BRINSON (VICE PRESIDENT OF STRATEGY)
  • DR KEITH BABUSZCZAK (VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMS)

Highest reported compensation

  • LYNN MOODY (PRESIDENT): $244,190 total reported compensation
  • DANA BRINSON (VICE PRESIDENT OF STRATEGY): $192,435 total reported compensation
  • PATRICIA HILLIARD (SENIOR DIRECTOR OF DISTRICT LEADERSHIP): $165,499 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Sparknc empowers students to discover careers in high-tech fields like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and machine learning, software development and computer systems engineering. We help schools move away from traditional classes and rigid schedules. Instead, students choose what, where and how they learn. Educators have flexibility to use innovative strategies to deliver instruction in engaging ways to students across the state.

What it reported doing in 2025

Sparknc empowers students to discover careers in high-tech fields like artificial intelligence, software development, computer systems engineering, and cybersecurity. Sparknc has established 25 district partnerships in 2025, 30 sparklabs across North Carolina, equipped with furniture and equipment, a sparklab leader, and a learning platform for students to access content and track progress. Sparklabs offer various types of learning experiences, including on-demand, live-interdistrict, and experiential options, which can be stacked toward elective credit. These modern, collaborative spaces provide students with access to competency-based, industry-aligned, modular learning experiences focused on high-wage, socially impactful careers in high-tech fields. Approximately 2,401 students have engaged in sparknc's learning platform since august 2023, demonstrating the reach of this initial program service accomplishment.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 90.5%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3,717.2%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.2; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.3%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 115.7% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -42.4% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.2% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 90.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $244K · 11 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $690K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.