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Nonprofiteer
← ASPIRE INSTITUTE INC

Form 990 for tax year 2024

Filed by ASPIRE INSTITUTE INC.

Totals

Total revenue
$1,512,937
Total expenses
$1,780,299
Contributions and grants received
$1,512,937
Grants paid
$60,600
Program service revenue
$0
Investment income
$0
Other revenue
$0
Total assets, end of year
$1,286,086
Total liabilities, end of year
$83,853
Net assets or fund balances, end of year
$1,202,233
Program services expenses (Part IX)
$1,550,674
Management and general expenses
$166,528
Fundraising expenses
$63,097
Program service expenses (Part III)
$1,550,674

Program services were 87.1% 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.

Revenue

Part VIII, the statement of revenue.

  • 1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants

    $1,512,937

  • 1g · Noncash contributions included above

    $8,393

Functional expenses

Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.

  • 2 · Grants to domestic individuals

    total $2,400 · program services $2,400

  • 3 · Grants to foreign organizations and individuals

    total $58,200 · program services $58,200

  • 5 · Compensation of officers, directors and key employees

    total $247,986 · program services $232,995 · management and general $14,991

  • 7 · Other salaries and wages

    total $736,628 · program services $692,097 · management and general $44,531

  • 9 · Other employee benefits

    total $85,488 · program services $85,488

  • 10 · Payroll taxes

    total $74,044 · program services $64,400 · management and general $9,644

  • 11c · Fees: accounting

    total $17,200 · management and general $17,200

  • 11e · Fees: professional fundraising services

    total $63,097 · fundraising $63,097

  • 11g · Fees: other

    total $96,444 · program services $34,750 · management and general $61,694

  • 12 · Advertising and promotion

    total $93,061 · program services $93,061

  • 13 · Office expenses

    total $17,417 · program services $16,694 · management and general $723

  • 14 · Information technology

    total $52,432 · program services $52,432

  • 16 · Occupancy

    total $73,641 · program services $67,701 · management and general $5,940

  • 17 · Travel

    total $25,343 · program services $25,343

  • 19 · Conferences, conventions and meetings

    total $7,898 · program services $7,898

  • 23 · Insurance

    total $5,126 · management and general $5,126

  • 24a · Other expenses: Pledge Writedown

    total $100,000 · program services $100,000

  • 24b · Other expenses: Staff Events

    total $16,534 · program services $16,534

  • 24c · Other expenses: Miscellaneous Expense

    total $7,360 · program services $681 · management and general $6,679

Balance sheet

Part X, book values.

  • 1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing

    beginning of year $590,623 · end of year $346,605

  • 3 · Pledges and grants receivable

    beginning of year $886,967 · end of year $893,265

  • 9 · Prepaid expenses and deferred charges

    beginning of year $21,945 · end of year $46,216

  • 14 · Intangible assets

    beginning of year $126,055 · end of year $0

  • 17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses

    beginning of year $19,238 · end of year $83,853

  • 25 · Other liabilities

    beginning of year $126,055 · end of year $0

  • 27 · Net assets without donor restrictions

    beginning of year $593,330 · end of year $308,968

  • 28 · Net assets with donor restrictions

    beginning of year $886,967 · end of year $893,265

Mission and programs · 2024

Mission

Aspire's mission is to empower low-income and first-generation college students and recent graduates to act independently, make informed choices, and affect meaningful change. Through the tuition-free, online Aspire Leaders Program, participants develop resilience, cultural awareness, and leadership skills to help them navigate challenges and embrace opportunities in education, careers, and life. By fostering confidence, self-efficacy, and collaboration, Aspire equips future leaders to create lasting impacts in their communities and beyond.

  • Aspire Leaders Program (ALP): Candidates for the program receive a host of academic and professional development resources through a tiered application structure that reaches thousands of students globally. In 2024 Aspire reached almost 120,000 students across 180 countries and accepted 53,686 applications from 169 countries. Students access source materials designed by Harvard and other prominent faculty, receive feedback, connect with peers, and interact with faculty and one another as they develop their individual leadership skills to make an impact in their local communities. (Continued on Schedule O).Advanced Leadership Opportunities: Scholarships: Participants who complete the ALP are eligible for scholarships for up to $1,000 USD purchasing power parity per qualifying finalist. Two types of scholarships: online academic or professional development. Community Action Awards: Participants who complete the ALP are eligible for funding for local community projects dedicated to catalyzing high-impact ideas. Up to nine awards, each up to $10,000 USD purchasing power parity. Project teams must have a domestic partner organization equivalent to a fiscal sponsor that provides the administrative support to the participant for the one year project duration.Mentorship Opportunities: Participants who complete the ALP are eligible have access to mentorship opportunities from industry leaders across the world for finalists. Mentors have offered to provide advice on professional career growth, job searches, interviews, graduate school application, etc.

    Expenses $1,550,674 · Grants $60,600

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

Listed in Part VII

  • Tarun Khanna

    President

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    3
  • Karim Lakhani

    Treasurer

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    3
  • Meena Sonea Hewett

    Clerk and CEO

    Total calculated
    $194,663
    From this org
    $175,000
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $19,663
    Hours/week
    43

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $175,000
    Bonus
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Deferred
    $0
    Nontaxable benefits
    $19,663
    Filer's total
    $194,663
  • Arthur Hunt

    Finance Officer

    Total calculated
    $53,323
    From this org
    $53,323
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Hours/week
    15
  • Tom Brown

    IT Officer

    Total calculated
    $110,000
    From this org
    $110,000
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Hours/week
    40

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

Answered yes

  • 3 · Written employment contract
  • 3 · Approval by the board or compensation committee

Answered no

  • 4a · Severance or change-of-control payment
  • 4b · Supplemental nonqualified retirement plan
  • 4c · Equity-based compensation arrangement
  • 5a · Pay contingent on this organization's revenues
  • 5b · Pay contingent on a related organization's revenues
  • 6a · Pay contingent on this organization's net earnings
  • 6b · Pay contingent on a related organization's net earnings
  • 7 · Other non-fixed payments
  • 8 · Paid under the initial-contract exception

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

No itemized grants to organizations on this return.

Provenance

Return type
form_990
Tax year
2024
Filed
1 May 2025
IRS schema version
2024v5.1
Source object
202541259349301659

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