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Core Districts

EIN 47-3207203 · Sacramento, CA

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood85 out of 100GovernanceStrong90 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

TO ASSIST PARTICIPATING SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO WORK TOGETHER TO INNOVATE, IMPLEMENT AND SCALE NEW STRATEGIES AND TOOLS TO HELP STUDENTS SUCCEED AND MEET THE CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY.

Income
$8.1 million
Spending
$7.4 million
Spent on programs
86%
Reserves
5.8 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 71%
Employees
18
Volunteers
10
Highest pay
$270,134, executive director, core capability building prog.

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: 85 out of 100. Higher than 71% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    20 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 5.8 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 7% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 8% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 12% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    86% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 1 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: 90 out of 100. Higher than 57% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    10 of 10 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

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited 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. $4.4 million spent. IMPROVEMENT NETWORKS:CAPABILITY BUILDING PROGRAMS IS A PROGRAM THAT OFFERS SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATORS TO LEARN AND DEVELOP SKILLS IN CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TO TACKLE SPECIFIC PROBLEMS OF PRACTICE IN THEIR LOCAL CONTEXTS.BREAKTHROUGH SUCCESS COMMUNITY IS A PROGRAM AIMED AT IMPROVING 9TH GRADERS ON TRACK READINESS FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER. THROUGH LEARNING SESSIONS, SITE TEAM MEETINGS, ACTION PERIODS, AND MONTHLY REPORTING, SCHOOLS THAT OPT INTO THE PROGRAM WORK ON IMPROVING 5 CRITICAL AREAS THAT DETERMINE 9TH GRADE STUDENT SUCCESS: SUPPORTIVE 8TH-9TH GRADE TRANSITION; FRESHMAN SUCCESS TEAMING; STRONG STUDENT-ADULT RELATIONSHIPS; MASTER SCHEDULING PRACTICE; AND GRADING PRACTICES.
  2. $1.4 million spent. DATA ANALYTICS:INSIGHTS DASHBOARD IS A PROGRAM DEVELOPED TO REFINE THE CALCULATION AT THE HEART OF CORE'S MULTIPLE MEASURES ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM AS WELL AS BUILDING CAPACITY FOR SYSTEMIC SUCCESS.DATA COLLABORATIVE IS A COLLABORATIVE BETWEEN PARTICIPATING LEAS (DISTRICTS, CHARTER LEAS AND ADDITIONAL NETWORKS) FOCUSED ON IMPROVING STUDENT OUTCOMES. THE DATA COLLABORATIVE'S LONG-TERM GOAL IS FOR ALL CALIFORNIA STUDENTS TO HAVE STRONG SUPPORT, EFFECTIVE PROGRAMMING, AND AN EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY STANDING TOGETHER BY THEIR SIDE SO THAT THEY CAN ACHIEVE AND SUCCEED IN COLLEGE AND CAREER. WORK TOWARD THIS GOAL IS SUPPORTED BY FACILITATING INTER- AND INTRA-DISTRICT DATA COLLABORATION THAT WILL HELP IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS INEQUITIES IN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES AND OUTCOMES. THE HOPE IS TO SUPPORT MEMBER DISTRICTS (WHICH INCLUDE APPROXIMATELY 1.2 MILLION STUDENTS) TO ADAPT THIS WORK FOR LOCAL SCHOOL REPORT CARDS THAT WILL ENABLE PARENTS, STUDENTS, EDUCATORS AND LEADERS TO UNDERSTAND AND RESPOND TO MATTERS OF SCHOOL QUALITY.SUPPORT INDEX IS A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT THAT WILL LEVERAGE THE FULL DATA SET IN THE CORE DATA COLLABORATIVE, WHICH INCLUDES OVER TWO MILLION STUDENTS ACROSS 150 LEAS (SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE, RURAL, URBAN, SUBURBAN, CHARTER, DISTRICT). THIS EFFORT WILL EXPLORE ADDITIONAL MEASURES OF STUDENT NEED AND/OR ASSETS. THESE INCLUDE SUCH ITEMS AS ADDRESS-LINKED CENSUS DATA (E.G., CRIME, MEDIAN INCOME, HEALTH) AND LOCALLY AVAILABLE DATA IN OAKLAND (E.G., STUDENT CHOICE DATA). AT ITS HEART, THE APPROACH OF THE STUDENTS NEEDS INDEX IS IMPORTANTLY UNIQUE IN THAT INSTEAD OF RELYING ON THE PERCEPTIONS OF INDIVIDUALS ABOUT WHAT DEFINES NEED, THE ORGANIZATION WILL BE EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OUTCOMES OF INTEREST (E.G., STUDENT PERFORMANCE ON STANDARDS TESTS) AND STUDENT AND COMMUNITY FACTORS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM.S CONTROL. THIS APPROACH BUILDS ON RESEARCH AND PRACTICE IN THE AREAS STUDENT GROWTH MODELING AND PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS, BOTH OF WHICH ARE PART OF THE EXISTING CORE-EA DATA SYSTEM.
  3. $436,277 spent. CORE SCHOOLSFUTURE FORWARD SECONDARY EDUCATION SYSTEMS IS A 10-YEAR BODY OF WORK THAT CORE IS UNDERTAKING. FOUR PARTICIPATING DISTRICTS ARE CONVENING COMMUNITY BASED DESIGN TEAMS TO LEARN FROM RESEARCH, AND SUCCESSFUL MODELS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY, TO FUNDAMENTALLY REDESIGN THE SECONDARY TEACHING AND LEARNING EXPERIENCE SO THAT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS CAN DEMONSTRATE SKILLS MASTERY AND PREPAREDNESS FOR TOMORROW'S WORLD.

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 September 7, 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 September 30, 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 September 10, 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 September 7, 2026.

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

    Recognized by the IRS since April 2015.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 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 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.