City Scholars Foundation
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
City Scholars Foundation helps education nonprofits thrive to ensure thousands of low-income youth have a better chance to learn and achieve against the odds. "City Scholars" is a registered trademark of City Scholars Foundation.
- Income
- $335,579
- Spending
- $312,874
- Spent on programs
- 79%
- Reserves
- 9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 90%
- Employees
- 5
- Volunteers
- 18
- Highest pay
- $135,533, founder & president
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 73 out of 100. Higher than 43% of charities in its peer group (education, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 9.0 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 38% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 7% of income.
Income trend
5 of 15Income fell 17% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1579% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 10 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 91 out of 100. Higher than 81% of charities in its peer group (education, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 257 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
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed 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 December 31, 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)
- $246,824 spent. CITY SCHOLARS FELLOWSHIP FOR EDUCATION: In high-poverty, under-resourced communities, education nonprofits play a critical role helping youth succeed both in and out of the classroom. To survive and thrive, quality education nonprofits depend upon resourceful, resilient, and collaborative leaders who need more than heart to keep the lights on and the doors open. Because education counts and leadership matters, we've partnered since 2014 with a growing corps of executive volunteer donors, corporate and foundation partners, and community supporters to sponsor the CITY SCHOLARS FELLOWSHIP FOR EDUCATION. As a collaborative, multi-year leadership institute, our Fellowship for Education invests in and partners with a diverse community of highly-motivated nonprofit CEOs (distinguished as City Scholars Foundation Fellows) to grow out-of-school time and school-based education nonprofits (currently 23) from survival to success to significance. Together, our Foundation Fellows and the education nonprofits they lead empower over 40,000 low-income, high-potential youth each year throughout the five-county Greater Los Angeles region to succeed in school, at work, and in life. Be inspired at www.cityscholars.org. "City Scholars" is a registered trademark of City Scholars Foundation.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 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 December 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 June 1994.
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.
Could it be confused with another charity? Worth knowing.
A much larger organization has a similar name: Evans Scholars Foundation (Glenview, IL), EIN 36-2518129. If that is the one you meant, check the EIN before giving.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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.