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Austin Childcare Providers Network

EIN 36-4395447 · Chicago, IL

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood80 out of 100GovernanceGood76 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

ACPN empowers early childcare providers in Austin to create engaging early learning environments and develop sustainable businesses.

Income
$492,032
Spending
$458,676
Spent on programs
80%
Reserves
3.2 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 50%
Employees
6
Volunteers
8
Highest pay
$74,500, executive 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

Good: 80 out of 100. Higher than 59% of charities in its peer group (human services, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    20 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 3.2 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 13% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 7% of income.

  • Income trend

    10 of 15

    Income fell 7% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    80% 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

Good: 76 out of 100. Higher than 56% of charities in its peer group (human services, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    7 of 8 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    0 of 10

    Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    0 of 5

    Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.

  • Independent check of accounts

    6 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports 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 (3)
  1. $366,010 spent. 101 Early Learning - ACPN has recognized the importance of providing Network members with information, education, and support. We have identified challenges and barriers for our members attaining their degrees. Our goals are to collaborate and partner with City Colleges and other Community Based Organizations (CBO) to leverage programs and resources to support providers. We have established a partnership with Malcolm X to identify the direction of the early childhood field and what are the trends in terms of credentials and degrees. Our project supports providers with resources and assistance in collecting documentation for: applying for financial aid, working with advisors, completing a City College application, and registering for coursework. We also advocate for simplifying the processes and procedures for community members to attain higher education.
  2. 102 Kindergarten Initiative - The C2K pilot promotes a collaboration funded by the Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development (GOECD) to develop a model that aligns training, curriculum, and assessments from childcare programs (with children ages 3-4), preschool programs and kindergarten classes. The C2K grant supports planning and implementation to: Develop partnerships that ensure that childcare providers, CPS State Pre-K and kindergarten teachers would be able to partner to accomplish the grant's goal of ensuring more Austin children successfully transition to kindergarten. Design strategies that promote shared training among State-PreK, kindergarten teachers and childcare owners and to collaborate on shared curriculum with a focus on child appropriate practices, training on the Illinois Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS), culturally responsive and trauma informed practices, the Pyramid model, assessments, and data collection. Create strategies to engage families of students enrolled in the pilot to strengthen school and home connections and ensure effective kindergarten transitions.
  3. ExceleRate Pilot - The Illinois ExceleRate system incentivizes childcare programs to work on continuous quality improvement of programs, by directors and program staff increasing their higher education credentials/degrees and conducting program self-assessments. ACPN has initiated a pilot to work with a cohort of ten providers to increase their ExceleRate level from Bronze to Silver. The pilot will work on individualizing training and coaching of each provider to identify areas of improvement, to create an individual/program plan that works on the areas of improvement and provide training and coaching to support added program quality standards. The pilot will work with the cohort for a year.These three initiatives target the early childhood providers in our community to increase their knowledge and skills. These three initiatives address aspects of the early childhood workforce: The AECC project provides opportunities for individual childcare providers to complete their GED and/or begin their higher education journey to attain an Associate degree or Infant/Toddler credential. The ExceleRate Pilot works on improving the quality of the community's early childcare programs. The C2K pilot specifically targets preparing childcare providers to increase the ability of preschool children to be kindergarten ready and to successfully transition to kindergarten.

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since June 2001.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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.

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.