Community Roots Charter School
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
COMMUNITY ROOTS CHARTER SCHOOL IS A RIGOROUS LEARNING COMMUNITY WHERE EDUCATION IS EMBEDDED IN MEANINGFUL REAL-WORLD CONTEXTS AND CHILDREN ARE DELIBERATELY TAUGHT TO SEE THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SCHOOL AND THE WORLD. COMMUNITY ROOTS STUDENTS WILL MEET OR EXCEED THE NEW YORK STATE STANDARDS AND BE PREPARED TO EXCEL IN THE 21ST CENTURY BY BECOMING INDEPENDENT THINKERS AND WORKING PRODUCTIVELY WITHIN A DIVERSE GROUP OF LEARNERS. AT COMMUNITY ROOTS, STUDENTS LEARN TO COMBINE CURIOSITY WITH APPROPRIATE APPLICATION, WHICH LEADS TO DEEP UNDERSTANDING AND THE CONFIDENCE TO BECOME WHO THEY WANT TO BE.
- Income
- $12.0 million
- Spending
- $12.5 million
- Spent on programs
- 80%
- Reserves
- 1.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 93%
- Employees
- 191
- Volunteers
- 20
- Highest pay
- $249,398, co-founder/k-5 co-director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 58 out of 100. Higher than 46% of charities in its peer group (education, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 1.5 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 48% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 4% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 7% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1580% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 11 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 50% of charities in its peer group (education, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2510 of 10 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $10.0 million spent. OUR CORE VALUES AT COMMUNITY ROOTS REALLY SET THE FOUNDATION FOR THE WORK THAT WE DO EVERY DAY. THESE ARE A SMALL SET OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT HAVE A PROFOUND IMPACT ON HOW EVERYONE IN OUR SCHOOL STRIVES TO THINK AND ACT. THEY HAVE INTRINSIC VALUE AND ARE OF SIGNIFICANT IMPORTANCE TO THE STAFF AND CHILDREN AT COMMUNITY ROOTS. SINCE WE ARE AN EXTREMELY DIVERSE COMMUNITY AND ALL ENTER THROUGH OUR SCHOOL DOORS WITH A VARIETY OF BACKGROUNDS, THOUGHTS, AND IDEAS, IT IS THESE FEW AND EXTREMELY POWERFUL GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT BECOME THE COMMON GROUND THAT WE INVITE ALL OUR CHILDREN TO BE A PART OF AND THE VALUES THAT THEY ARE ASKED TO GUIDE ALL THEIR ACTIONS.THE CORE VALUES ARE EMBEDDED IN OUR EVERY DAY INTERACTIONS, BUT EVERY YEAR FROM SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER WE FOCUS ON MORE EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION ACROSS THE SCHOOL. BEGINNING WITH THE CORE VALUE: HONOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS, WE TAKE 2 WEEKS AND WORK OUR WAY THROUGH ALL THE CORE VALUES. DURING THIS 2-WEEK SPAN, ACTIVITIES, READ-ALOUDS, AND DISCUSSIONS TAKE PLACE AROUND EACH CORE VALUE.FOR THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR, WE SERVED APPROXIMATELY 471 STUDENTS IN GRADES KINDERGARTEN THROUGH EIGHTH.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since July 2007.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.