Form 990 for tax year 2024

Totals

Total revenue

$14,669,225

Total expenses

$10,833,231

Contributions and grants received

$8,225,676

Grants paid

$60,000

Program service revenue

$344,526

Investment income

$6,043,819

Other revenue

$55,204

Total assets, end of year

$36,382,579

Total liabilities, end of year

$1,166,672

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$35,215,907

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$8,895,442

Management and general expenses

$1,581,440

Fundraising expenses

$356,349

Program service expenses (Part III)

$8,895,442

Program services were 82.1% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Mission and programs · 2024

• Southern Education Leadership Initiative Embedded across the strategies of SEF's three programmatic areas is our long-standing leadership development initiative, the Southern Education Leadership Initiative (SELI). Launched in 2004 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, SELI has now entered its third decade of cultivating leadership for educational equity and opportunity across the South. As we prepare to mark SELI's 21st year, we celebrate a legacy of 299 college and graduate students who have completed intensive training and paid summer fellowships through the program. These emerging leaders-diverse, driven, and deeply committed-represent the next generation of changemakers shaping the future of education policy and practice. Fellowship Overview The Southern Education Leadership Initiative (SELI) is an intensive, eight-week, paid summer fellowship for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students interested in advancing racial equity and improving education across the pre-kindergarten to college continuum. It is a continuation of SEF's legacy of educating leaders in the South, which spans more than a century. Our initiative recognized that there is still important work to be done to ensure that all children, irrespective of race or class, receive an excellent education. Placed in nonprofits, school districts, higher education institutions, education technology firms, or state education agencies in the South, SELI fellows spend the summer developing as leaders, engaging with valuable stakeholders, and acquiring practical job skills through direct learning experiences. Over SELI's tenure, 299 talented and diverse young leaders have conducted important research, policy analysis, advocacy, and organizing efforts for over 110 partner organizations. SELI alum can be found today working as educators, policymakers, researchers, community organizers, and committed civic leaders dedicated to improving the life chances of all children. The fellowship is delivered via three key activities: Orientation Training, Placement, and the Closing Meeting. The Orientation Training takes place in May each summer and exposes students to research and data around racial and socio-economic disparities in education, stresses the importance of education equity, offers site visits to see top issues in education firsthand, and provides opportunities to learn from inspiring leaders. Students depart from Orientation to their placement sites, where they work for eight weeks on projects to advance the capacity of their host sites, while developing their own leadership potential in the educational equity field. The Closing Meeting, held every July, presents an opportunity for fellows to share lessons learned, reflect, and brainstorm on how to continue making change as part of a network of emerging leaders in the sector. In the past year, SELI has expanded to include intentional alumni engagement, ensuring fellows are supported well beyond the summer experience. This ongoing support aims to bolster their leadership capacities and keep them connected to a broader network of changemakers. Alumni opportunities have included virtual professional learning webinars on timely topics in education and leadership, as well as the launch of a new, advanced summer fellowship exclusively for SELI alumni, developed in collaboration with Columbia University's Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). These efforts reflect SELI's long-term commitment to cultivating and sustaining a robust pipeline of Southern education leaders. Racial Equity Leadership Network In districts all over the United States, race and class remain among the most reliable predictors of student success in school. Currently, in southern states, more than half of all the students enrolled in public school are from low-income families, with a growing number of families living in extreme poverty. The majority of public-school students in the South are also children of color, rapidly changing the demographics of large and small districts. The increasing diversity and inequities students and families confront creates an imperative for us to reimagine how we create a system that increases access and opportunity for all children to learn, develop, and thrive. We think the system we need now requires a bold and significant shift in educational leadership and practice. Leaders in every corner of our nation are being called to think, engage and act differently in the face of the complex challenges they navigate. Strengthening the will, skill and capacity of district leaders and their teams is an important lever for advancing authentic and enduring equity-centered system change. Funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, the Southern Education Foundation, Inc. is answering this call by hosting the Racial Equity Leadership Network (RELN) to advance the capacity of district leaders committed to enduring equity-centered systems change as a solution to addressing racial, economic and academic disparities in districts across the South. Fellowship Overview and Theory of Change The Racial Equity Leadership Network is an 18-month, cohort-style fellowship program for school district leaders who are committed to addressing persistent disparities in their systems and ensuring that race and class are no longer the most reliable predictors of student success. Each RELN cohort is comprised of up to twelve (12) executive leaders (i.e., Superintendents, Deputy Superintendents, Chief Academic Officers, etc.) from school systems across the South. Over the course of their fellowship experience, RELN fellows attend five (5) two-and-a-half-day network convening's focused on the essential levers for equity-centered leadership and system transformation. In between network convening's, the fellows also receive customized coaching and webinars to support the identification of a context-specific equity challenge. Finally, fellows receive grant support and other technical assistance to implement an action plan addressing their unique equity challenge during a six-month in-district work period. The RELN leadership development model follows a double helix approach incorporating two distinct, but intrinsically linked, strands of learning, engaging, and testing over the course of the 18-month fellowship. Fellows sharpen their individual racial equity lens and receive tools to enhance their capacity for influencing education policy and practice. Because this individual development is insufficient to create sustainable change within systems, fellows simultaneously identify specific policy or practice challenges to address within their districts, receive resources for engaging with others, and observe model districts making progress towards racial equity. Fellowship Outcomes As members of the Racial Equity Leadership Network, fellows (ideally) will: 1) Deepen awareness and understanding of the historical and contextual drivers of racial inequity in schools and make connections to present-day education policies and practices that perpetuate racial disparities in student opportunity and outcomes. 2) Challenge to examine their own attitude, beliefs, and assumptions about students' ability to learn, regardless of background. 3) Establish clear steps for an explicit racial equity vision for their systems and establishing racial equity as a fundamental value that is clearly articulated and championed by all school community members, who work collaboratively to advance sustainable, equitable opportunities and outcomes for students. 4) Strengthen their ability to diagnose, and ultimately create solutions to address, the inequities that they witness in their system. Gain a peer network and professional learning community of equity-oriented district leaders throughout the South. Since its inception, the Racial Equity Leadership Network has impacted the leadership journeys of 37 executive district leaders across four cohorts. Through their participation in the fellowship, these leaders have shifted the way they approach complex challenges in their systems, applying equity-centered strategies and tools in real-time. Each fellow represented a district in the South, spanning urban, suburban, and rural contexts, bringing with them diverse perspectives and a shared commitment to advancing opportunity and outcomes for all students.

  Expenses $8,895,442 · Grants $60,000 · Revenue $344,526

As filed on the 2024 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

• Raymond Pierce

  President

  Total calculated

  $474,677

  From this org

  $402,271

  From related orgs

  $0

  Other

  $72,406

  Hours/week

  40

  Schedule J breakdown matched by us

  Base

  $359,271

  Bonus

  $25,000

  Other

  $18,000

  Deferred

  $65,000

  Nontaxable benefits

  $8,556

  Filer's total

  $475,827

• Kenita Williams

  Chief Operating Officer

  Total calculated

  $262,151

  From this org

  $222,300

  From related orgs

  $0

  Other

  $39,851

  Hours/week

  40

  Schedule J breakdown matched by us

  Base

  $216,300

  Bonus

  $6,000

  Other

  $0

  Deferred

  $32,445

  Nontaxable benefits

  $8,556

  Filer's total

  $263,301

• Saba Bireda

  Executive Director - BP

  Total calculated

  $246,587

  From this org

  $231,000

  From related orgs

  $0

  Other

  $15,587

  Hours/week

  40

  Schedule J breakdown matched by us

  Base

  $231,000

  Bonus

  $0

  Other

  $0

  Deferred

  $8,181

  Nontaxable benefits

  $8,556

  Filer's total

  $247,737

• Leighton O'Sullivan

  Chief Financial Officer

  Total calculated

  $239,461

  From this org

  $202,700

  From related orgs

  $0

  Other

  $36,761

  Hours/week

  40

  Schedule J breakdown matched by us

  Base

  $195,700

  Bonus

  $7,000

  Other

  $0

  Deferred

  $29,335

  Nontaxable benefits

  $8,444

  Filer's total

  $240,479

• Ary Spatig-Amerikaner

  Executive Director - BP

  Total calculated

  $238,694

  From this org

  $229,433

  From related orgs

  $0

  Other

  $9,261

  Hours/week

  40

  Schedule J breakdown matched by us

  Base

  $229,433

  Bonus

  $0

  Other

  $0

  Deferred

  $8,662

  Nontaxable benefits

  $1,749

  Filer's total

  $239,844

• Fred Jones Jr

  Senior Director of Public Poli

  Total calculated

  $212,311

  From this org

  $163,596

  From related orgs

  $0

  Other

  $48,715

  Hours/week

  40

  Schedule J breakdown matched by us

  Base

  $159,596

  Bonus

  $4,000

  Other

  $0

  Deferred

  $25,553

  Nontaxable benefits

  $24,154

  Filer's total

  $213,303

• Max Altman

  Director of Research and Polic

  Total calculated

  $168,760

  From this org

  $140,960

  From related orgs

  $0

  Other

  $27,800

  Hours/week

  40

  Schedule J breakdown matched by us

  Base

  $135,960

  Bonus

  $5,000

  Other

  $0

  Deferred

  $20,394

  Nontaxable benefits

  $8,305

  Filer's total

  $169,659

• Eshe Collins

  Director, Equity Assistance

  Total calculated

  $154,491

  From this org

  $140,200

  From related orgs

  $0

  Other

  $14,291

  Hours/week

  40

  Schedule J breakdown matched by us

  Base

  $137,700

  Bonus

  $2,500

  Other

  $0

  Deferred

  $6,885

  Nontaxable benefits

  $8,389

  Filer's total

  $155,474

• Dr Hakim Lucas

  Chair

  Total calculated

  $0

  Hours/week

  2

• Kenneth Jones II

  Secretary

  Total calculated

  $0

  Hours/week

  2

• Judith Leonard

  Trustee

  Total calculated

  $0

  Hours/week

  2

• Larry Berger

  Trustee

  Total calculated

  $0

  Hours/week

  2

• Ajay Mehrotra

  Trustee

  Total calculated

  $0

  Hours/week

  2

• Michele Warman

  Trustee

  Total calculated

  $0

  Hours/week

  2

• Charlotte Morris

  Trustee

  Total calculated

  $0

  Hours/week

  2

• Careshia Moore

  Trustee

  Total calculated

  $0

  Hours/week

  2

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.

Schedule J

Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.

Grants on this return

• Duval County Public School

  $60,000

  Support

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2024

Filed

15 November 2025

IRS schema version

2024v5.2

Source object

202502209349300000

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