Carolina Youth Action Project
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Carolina Youth Action Project is a grassroots nonprofit that uses music as a vehicle for social change and builds power among girls and transgender youth in Charleston, South Carolina. We develop feminist and anti-racist youth leaders through cultural organizing practices that blend music education, political education, and DIY media making.
- Income
- $144,656
- Spending
- $152,962
- Reserves
- 5.8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 100%
- Highest pay
- $38,180, secretary
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
We do not score finances when yearly spending is very small or the return has too little detail. The ratios stop meaning much at that size.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 (2)
- $90,045 spent. Youth Leader Institute (YLI): The Youth Leader Institute aims to equip girls, trans youth and gender nonconforming youth ages 14-18 with the skills, support and critical analysis necessary to lead a movement for radical and lasting change in South Carolina. YLI serves as an organizing crash course, equipping young people with the tools to effectively build and sustain a base of folks who support and are invested in our campaign work. In 2024 CYAP built low-pressure, low-barrier hangout spaces on Discord oriented around gaming, art, music, and topics that were important to youth participants. CYAP continued to maintain its stance of no punishment, no shaming, and no forced participation modeling supportive accountability instead of control. In 2024 CYAP continued leadership development pathways, encouraging youth leaders to find their niche within our or within other organizations as leaders and changemakers. Also in 2024, CYAP built relationships with local organizations, colleges, and youth groups to plan potential collaborative programming.
- $36,942 spent. Jessamine Zine: In 2024,CYAP continued its focus on youth-led liberation, creative education, and community-rooted leadership, with programming centered on consent, boundaries, art-making, and abolitionist political education. Much of this work took shape through the Jessamine Zine initiative, which functioned as a youth-led space for creativity, storytelling, and mutual support. In 2024, CYAP continued its longstanding approach to non-punitive, consent-centered youth work. CYAP created and printed the inaugural zine issues that highlighted youth writing, art, and shared experiences under the umbrella theme of "power." Through the Zine initiative, CYAP helped young people see their work valued in public space via social media and print media.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 November 6, 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 December 2024.
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 November 2011.
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 November 4, 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.