Step Up For Students

Legal name: Step Up for Students - Florida Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
593649371
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Jacksonville, FL, USA
Phone
1-877-735-7837
Rating
95
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$859,413,209
Expenses
$912,541,036
Assets
$1,727,462,650
Liabilities
$984,596,762

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GRETCHEN SCHOENHAAR (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • RUTH ROSE (CHIEF CST. EXP. OFFICER (THRU 09/24)): $410,926 total reported compensation
  • DOUG TUTHILL (CHIEF VISION OFFICER): $387,746 total reported compensation
  • GRETCHEN SCHOENHAAR (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $374,097 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Step Up For Students empowers families to access the best possible learning options for their children. Step Up For Students is a state-approved, nonprofit scholarship funding organization that helps administer scholarships for Florida schoolchildren: The donor-funded Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) Program and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO) helps K-12 students attend private schools The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) empowers families to personalize the education of their students by directing funds to where they’re needed most.

What it reported doing in 2024

The family empowerment scholarship program was established in 2019 to provide children and families in the state of Florida which have limited resources with educational options to achieve success in their education. The family empowerment scholarship was expanded into two branches: family empowerment scholarship for educational options and for students with unique abilities (formerly known as gardiner scholarship). Family empowerment scholarship educational options: this scholarship is intended to help reduce the wait list for the tax credit scholarship program and similarily serves students from low-income and working-class households. Step up for students-Florida, as an approved sfo, administered this scholarship and served 266,023 k-12 students for the 2024-2025 school year. In 2023, the Florida state legislature opened the scholarship to all eligible residents of Florida. Qualified students could receive up to a maximum scholarship of $14,039 depending on grade level and county residence, for private school tuition and fees.family empowerment scholarship for students with unique abilities (formally known as gardiner scholarship): in the 2024-25 school year, step up for students-Florida administered this scholarship program for students with unique abilities with specific diabilities that include: autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, spina bifida, intellectual disability, williams syndrome, and more. Through this scholarship program, 96,678 eligible students received a scholarship for the 2023-24 school year and 126,446 students for the 2024-25 school year at an average of $10,113 each. The program empowers families to choose the educational services that best meet the needs of their student, and the money can be spent for schools, therapists, specialists, curriculum, technology even a college savings account.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 88% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 99
  • Transparency & Controls: 96
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 98.3%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $347.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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; 77th 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: -6.2%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.89; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.57; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.4%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $896.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $411K · 28 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $58M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.