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Collective Climb

EIN 85-2073531 · Philadelphia, PA

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair68 out of 100GovernanceStrong90 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

To serve adolescents through Restorative Practices.

Income
$388,511
Spending
$455,378
Spent on programs
69%
Reserves
11.7 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 100%
Employees
4
Volunteers
20
Highest pay
$69,713, executive director

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Fair: 68 out of 100. Higher than 35% of charities in its peer group (crime and legal services, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    28 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 11.7 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 12% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    0 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 17% of income.

  • Income trend

    5 of 15

    Income fell 21% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    69% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 2 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 68% of charities in its peer group (crime and legal services, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    6 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

    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 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)
  1. $135,741 spent. Typically we have two cohorts of the Restorative Community Project in one calendar year, but 2024 marked a departure. Deciding to pause to focus more intently on finding a space (more on that later), we had a standalone summer cohort. The 12 participants, a group of Black and Latinx girls and non-binary femmes, bonded over shared identities as artists during a weekend retreat to the Poconos and 48 hours of restorative programming focused on anti-oppression education (to view overcoming injustice as feasible), community care (to curb responding to harm with more harm), post-secondary readiness (to prepare them to spearhead movement work), and youth-led community engagement (to invest in their freedom dreams now). Beyond talking about these as concepts, we engaged with them as praxis. Each participant received a $912 stipend for learning and growing with us during the summer. On the other side, our Youth Advisory prepped for a July 26th event. Additionally, feeling the weight of constant violence funded by our country, they vowed to do something to with their own platforms. This led to the idea of a fill-a-bag thrift event, and teach-in benefitting countries facing violence. Finally Collective Climb youth had the honor of partnering with organizers from the Restorative Cities Initiative (Philadelphia), the National Council of Elders (national), Y-VAC (Detroit-based), Dynamic Justice Collective (Philadelphia), and YASP (Philadelphia) for a 3 day intergenerational gathering which had over 40 attendees,
  2. $176,650 spent. Our Restorative Justice Diversion Program carries us across the seasons. In 2024, we reached 32 youth (with 18 on track for expungement and 12 on track for program completion in 2025) and consistently provided 1:1 programming while also supporting families and persons harmed with resources. (Note: We increased pipelines to therapists, including the practices of Full Being Services, Melanated Women's Health, and Melanated Healing-a cost we can cover for 12 sessions per youth). To increase pro-social programmatic experiences. for youth, we made referrals to the Niche Clinic, the ASPCA, Philadelphia Youth Basketball, and Dr. Chantel Price's Go Hard or Go Home Cosmetology Program. Simultaneously, we began our partnership with Dr. Noor Toraif of Boston University School of Social Work to do retrospective research on the success of our diversion program to date (which maintains an all-time recidivism rate of 5%). This will inform a future longitudinal study that seeks to answer: How does RJ based diversion impact youth's psychological outcomes? How does RJ based diversion impact youth's social outcomes? How do restorative justice processes shape community perceptions of youth with criminal legal system contact, and the criminal legal system more broadly?

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 December 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 2021.

    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.