Partnership for Regionaleducational Preparation-Kansas City
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
IN A WORLD WHERE ZIP CODES CAN PREDICT OUTCOMES, PREP-KC IGNITES POTENTIAL BY BRINGING EDUCATORS AND INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS TOGETHER TO BUILD PATHS TO MEANINGFUL CAREERS FOR STUDENTS ACROSS THE HEART OF BISTATE KANSAS CITY.
- Income
- $4.1 million
- Spending
- $3.5 million
- Spent on programs
- 90%
- Reserves
- 14.6 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 51%
- Employees
- 24
- Volunteers
- 1,080
- Highest pay
- $180,250, ceo & president
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
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 91% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 14.6 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 2% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 13% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 46% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1590% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 4 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 74% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 258 of 8 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)
- $3.2 million spent. PREP-KC PARTNERS WITH SIX SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND THREE CHARTER SCHOOLS, ENROLLING OVER 66,000 STUDENTS AND GRADUATING WITH APPROXIMATELY 3,900 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ANNUALLY. 82% OF STUDENTS IDENTIFY AS STUDENTS OF COLOR, AND 86% COME FROM LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS. OUR PARTNER SCHOOLS SERVE 19 OF THE 20 ZIP CODES WITH THE LOWEST MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOMES IN THE NINE-COUNTY METROPOLITAN AREA. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O) MARKET VALUE ASSETS (MVA) AND SCHOOL REDESIGN:MARKET VALUE ASSETS (MVAS) ARE MEASURABLE, CAREER-CONNECTED EXPERIENCES THAT HELP STUDENTS PREPARE FOR COLLEGE, CAREER, AND LIFE. PREP-KC TRACKS FOUR TYPES OF MVAS FOR STUDENTS IN OUR 21 PARTNER HIGH SCHOOLS: 1. NINE OR MORE COLLEGE CREDITS EARNED IN HIGH SCHOOLS 2. AN INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED CREDENTIAL 3. COMPLETION OF AN INTERNSHIP OR CLIENT-CONNECTED PROJECT 4. COMPLETION OF AN ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERIENCE SINCE 2019, PREP-KC HAS IMPLEMENTED A MULTI-FACETED APPROACH TO EXPAND MVA ATTAINMENT. THIS WORK INCLUDES REDESIGNING HIGH SCHOOLS TO PROVIDE "WALL TO WALL" MVA OPPORTUNITIES, ENSURING THAT STUDENTS HAVE MULTIPLE WAYS TO EARN MVAS THROUGH CAREER PATHWAYS, DUAL-CREDIT COURSES, APPRENTICESHIPS, AND STUDENT-RUN ENTERPRISES. PERSONALIZED MVA PLANNING SUPPORTS EACH STUDENT'S POSTSECONDARY ASPIRATIONS, WHILE SCHOOL STRUCTURES ARE ALIGNED TO INTEGRATE MVAS INTO THE CURRICULUM AND SCHEDULE. PREP-KC'S INITIATIVES HAVE RESULTED IN 11,627 GRADUATES EARNING AN MVA THROUGH 2025, EXCEEDING THE ORIGINAL SIX-YEAR TARGET OF 10,000 MVAS. BY 2025, 74% OF GRADUATES EARNED AT LEAST ONE MVA. STUDENTS WHO EARN MVAS ARE MORE LIKELY TO ENROLL IN COLLEGE, PERSIST THROUGH THEIR SECOND YEAR, AND GRADUATE THAN PEERS WHO DID NOT EARN AN MVA. PREP-KC CONTINUES TO SCALE MVA ATTAINMENT THROUGH SCHOOL REDESIGN STRATEGIES THAT EMBED CAREER EXPLORATION, PROJECT-BASED LEARNING, AND INDUSTRY MENTORSHIP INTO DAILY INSTRUCTION. BY 2030, EVERY STUDENT GRADUATING FROM A PARTNER HIGH SCHOOL WILL EARN AT LEAST ONE MVA ALIGNED WITH THEIR POSTSECONDARY ASPIRATIONS. THESE REDESIGN EFFORTS ALSO INCLUDE INTEGRATING EARLY COLLEGE AND CAREER EXPERIENCES FOR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, SUPPORTING PERSONALIZED PLANS FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND BEYOND. PATHWAYS TO TECHNOLOGY:PREP-KC'S PATHWAYS TO TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM PROVIDES HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH COURSEWORK AND HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE IN TECHNOLOGY FIELDS. STUDENTS ATTEND CLASSES ONSITE AT ORACLE'S SOUTH KANSAS CITY CAMPUS. SINCE 2017, 89% OF PARTICIPANTS HAVE IDENTIFIED AS BLACK, LATINX, OR A PERSON OF COLOR, AND 37% ARE FEMALE. PROJECT POLARIS ENABLES STUDENTS TO DEVELOP OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS FOR NONPROFIT AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS, PROVIDING THEM WITH FUNCTIONAL, REAL-WORLD TECHNOLOGY EXPERIENCE.MATH RELAYS: PREP-KC HOSTS MATH RELAYS FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES 5-12. THESE EVENTS PROVIDE INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM CHALLENGES IN ALGEBRA, GEOMETRY, DATA, AND NUMBER SENSE AT LEVELS ALIGNED TO STUDENTS' CURRENT MATH COURSES. LAST YEAR, OVER 1,000 STUDENTS PARTICIPATED. THE PROGRAM EMPHASIZES LOGIC, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND COLLABORATION, BUILDING FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS THAT SUPPORT COLLEGE READINESS AND CAREER PREPARATION.COLLEGE AND CAREER EXPLORATION: PREP-KC SUPPORTS STUDENTS IN GRADES 3-8 IN EXPLORING A WIDE RANGE OF OCCUPATIONS THROUGH INTERACTIONS WITH INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS. IN THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR, 7,188 STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN IN-PERSON EVENTS, AND 16,750 PARTICIPATED VIRTUALLY. A TOTAL OF 1,080 VOLUNTEERS REPRESENTING 411 BUSINESSES ENGAGED WITH STUDENTS, CONTRIBUTING OVER 4,130 HOURS OF VOLUNTEER SERVICE. THESE ACTIVITIES HELP STUDENTS DEVELOP AWARENESS OF CAREER PATHWAYS IN HEALTHCARE, TECHNOLOGY, BUSINESS, AND SKILLED TRADES.DATA SCIENCE: PREP-KC'S DATA IN ACTION INITIATIVE PROVIDES EIGHTH-GRADE STUDENTS WITH PROJECT-BASED DATA SCIENCE INSTRUCTION. STUDENTS ENGAGE WITH AUTHENTIC DATASETS, WORK WITH INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS, AND DEVELOP DATA ANALYTICS SKILLS. IN THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR, 747 STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE COURSE, AND 307 EARNED AN INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED DATA ANALYTICS CREDENTIAL. TEACHERS RECEIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND JOB-EMBEDDED COACHING TO SUPPORT CURRICULUM INTEGRATION AND REAL-WORLD LEARNING EXPERIENCES.IMPACT:PREP-KC'S PROGRAMS HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO MEASURABLE, REGION-WIDE IMPROVEMENTS: - MVA ATTAINMENT INCREASED FROM 26% IN 2019 TO 74% IN 2025 - 11,627 GRADUATES HAVE EARNED AT LEAST ONE MVA THROUGH 2025 - STUDENTS WHO EARN MVAS ARE MORE LIKELY TO ENROLL IN COLLEGE, PERSIST THROUGH THEIR SECOND YEAR, AND GRADUATE THAN PEERS WHO DID NOT EARN AN MVA. - OVER 22,000 ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS PARTICIPATE ANNUALLY IN EARLY COLLEGE AND CAREER EXPERIENCES. - MORE THAN 1,100 INDUSTRY VOLUNTEERS REPRESENTING OVER 400 EMPLOYERS SUPPORT HANDS-ON LEARNING ACROSS THE REGION.FUNDING AND SUSTAINABILITY:PREP-KC FUNDS ITS WORK THROUGH A COMBINATION OF PRIVATE FUNDRAISING, COST-SHARING AGREEMENTS WITH PARTNER SCHOOL DISTRICTS, AND EARNED INCOME FROM CONSULTING SERVICES. APPROXIMATELY 64% OF OPERATING REVENUE COMES FROM PRIVATE FUNDRAISING, AND 36% COMES FROM EARNED INCOME. PREP-KC MAINTAINS A BOARD-DESIGNATED RESERVE AND LEVERAGES A TRAIN-THE-TRAINER MODEL TO ENSURE DISTRICT STAFF CAN SUSTAIN PROGRAM ACTIVITIES INDEPENDENTLY. THESE MEASURES SUPPORT LONG-TERM STABILITY AND ALLOW PROGRAMS TO CONTINUE SERVING STUDENTS EVEN IN THE EVENT OF FUNDING FLUCTUATIONS.
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 October 13, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since March 2008.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 21, 2026.
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