Council of the Great City Schools
Council of the Great City Schools reported $11.5 million in revenue and $11.3 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $72.34 went to program services, $27.31 to management and general costs and $0.35 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was program service revenue such as fees, sales and contracts: 58.6% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $437,280 (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR). 12 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 68% between FY2020 and FY2025. Source: Form 990, FY2025.
Where $100 of spending went
The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $11MFor context, the median across 5,499 covered education charities: $85.56 programs, $13.59 management, $0.85 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $11MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | FY2025 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 72.3% | 84.4% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 27.3% | 13.4% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.01 | $0.04 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 33.1% | 19.1% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 1.1% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 58.6% | 69.9% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $437,280 | $331,578 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 3.88% | 1.28% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 12 | 8 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 20.3 | 13.3 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 149 of 149 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
FY2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseMeetings and conferences -the council held nine in-person conferences and meetings in FY24-25. The two largest conferences were the annual fall conference and the spring legislative/policy conference. The annual fall conference was held on october 16-20, 2024, in dallas, tx and was attended by some 1,000 big-city public school superintendents, school board members, senior administrators, and deans of colleges of education.continued on page 45hosted by the dallas independent school district, the five-day conference was held in dallas under the banner "leading innovation and transformation." in…
General membership services this is the combined organizational services of the council of the Great City Schools, including legislation, communications, research, academic achievement, task forces, and management services. In each of these areas, the council conducted over 1,000 regular zoom calls to connect member district staff to peers and support during the year.continued on page 46legislation--the council helps shape legislation to strengthen the quality of schooling for the nation's urban children by providing information to federal agencies and to the membership on federal activity.…
Categorical grants the council received two new categorical grants in FY24-25: one from the hewlett foundation to support districts through providing hands-on professional development and implementation guidance for effective use of high-quality instructional materials (hqim) (acct 44); and another from the wallace foundation to support the foundation's equity-centered pipeline initiative (ecpi) with the eight participating council districts (acct 62).continued on page 52the organization also operated: 1) the second year of the gates foundation grant (acct 26) called instructional resources…
Highest reported compensation
FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $364,918 | $0 | $72,362 | $437,280 |
| STRATEGIC ADVISOR Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $276,530 | $0 | $49,980 | $326,510 |
| DIRECTOR OF FINANCE/ADMINISTRATION Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $239,278 | $0 | $32,118 | $271,396 |
| DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $190,822 | $0 | $41,131 | $231,953 |
| DIRECTOR OF LEGISLATION Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $197,018 | $0 | $23,324 | $220,342 |
| DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY & PARTNERSHIPS Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $175,635 | $0 | $32,710 | $208,345 |
| CHIEF OF CURRICULUM/DIRECTOR OF MATHEMATICS Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $176,139 | $0 | $11,012 | $187,151 |
12 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Council of the Great City Schools (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $698K (Part IX, line 5).
6 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
FY2025 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b149 · 149 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
- Employees Part I, line 526
- Volunteers Part I, line 6152
Largest outside contractors
FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| MEADOW AVENUE CONSULTING Legal services | $292,900 |
| TOGETHER NETWORK FOR TRANSFORMATION Leadership training services | $292,661 |
| ISSACHAR SOLUTIONS GROUP INC Member management services | $261,363 |
| AIRICK JOURNEY CRABILL Board governance services | $193,931 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 8 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
1 private foundation reported grants to Council of the Great City Schools totaling $1.4M on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from Council of the Great City Schools's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Council of the Great City Schools, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 Council of the Great City Schools spent in FY2025, $72.34 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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Similar-sized charities in this cause
- Georgia School Boards AssociationLawrenceville, GA · revenue $11M · programs 88.6% · FY2025
- The Augusta Preparatory Day SchoolMartinez, GA · revenue $11M · programs 76.0% · FY2025
- LiberHenderson, NV · revenue $11M · programs 64.3% · FY2025
- EmsElkins, WV · revenue $11M · programs 83.9% · FY2025
- Assets SchoolHonolulu, HI · revenue $11M · programs 78.6% · FY2025
All education charities · Largest charities in District of Columbia
Questions people ask
How much of Council of the Great City Schools's spending goes to programs?
In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, Council of the Great City Schools reported that 72.3% of its $11.3 million in expenses went to program services, 27.3% to management and general and 0.3% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Council of the Great City Schools pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Council of the Great City Schools reported for one person in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 was $437,280, for the role of EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Council of the Great City Schools get its money?
Of $11.5 million in revenue in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, 33.1% came from contributions and grants and 58.6% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Council of the Great City Schools a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 36-2481232 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- FY2025: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, object 202600809349300620 · read the filing · XML
- FY2024: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, object 202501229349302200 · read the filing
- FY2023: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, object 202431359349305978 · read the filing
- FY2022: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, object 202311309349304666 · read the filing
- FY2021: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, object 202231339349308758 · read the filing
- FY2020: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, object 202101339349301105 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 36-2481232: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.