Education (B90) IRS Verified DX Registered 990 on File

FORWARD SCHOLARS LLC

EIN: 88-3267397 · MILWAUKEE, WI 53222-4721 · United States · FY 2025 Data

3 out of 5 55 / 100 Based on 2+ years of filings

Financial strength (30%) 86/100

Reliability (20%) 40/100

Effectiveness (25%) 83/100

Impact (25%) No data yet

Financial data: FY 2025 · Scored 9/13/2026

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Mission Statement

The Forward Scholars' mission statement is “Together we build brighter futures and stronger communities through reading.” Our purpose is to ensure that kindergarten through third grade children in Milwaukee are reading at grade level as well as developing the confidence and interest to expand their reading into the future.

Financial Overview — FY 2025

$1.1M

Total Revenue

$717K

Total Expenses

$1.0M

Net Assets

Employees

Revenue Sources

Expense Breakdown

Program Expense Ratio 69.8%

Fundraising Efficiency N/A

Operating Reserve 17.55x

Liability-to-Asset 0.5%

Revenue Diversification 98.2%

Executive Compensation $146K

Compared with Peers

FY 2025

Compared with 10,291 similar organizations (United States, Education, $100K–$1M in expenses), FY 2025.

This organization Middle half of peers (P25–P75) Peer median

Ratio	This org	Peer median	Position (P10 → P90)
Program expense ratio Program expenses / total expenses · higher is better	69.8%	89.6%	P10P90	Bottom quarter
Admin expense ratio Management and general / total expenses · lower is better	15.4%	7.5%	P10P90	Below median
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expenses / total expenses · lower is better	14.8%	0.0%	P10P90	Bottom quarter
Operating reserve Months of expenses covered by net assets · higher is better	17.6 mo	9.1 mo	P10P90	Above median
Liabilities to assets Total liabilities / total assets · lower is better	0.5%	0.1%	P10P90	Below median
Revenue concentration Share of revenue from the largest source · lower is better	98.2%	87.8%	P10P90	Below median
Revenue growth Year over year revenue growth	2.1%	6.3%	P10P90
Expense growth Year over year expense growth	1.5%	7.6%	P10P90
Surplus margin Surplus as a share of revenue	33.8%	3.1%	P10P90

Financial History

Year	Revenue	Expenses	Net Assets	Program %	Staff
2025	$1.1M	$717K	$1.0M	69.8%	9
2024	$1.1M	$706K	$432K	76.1%	8
2023	$480K	$403K	$77K	100.0%	5

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Organization Details

EIN: 88-3267397
State: WI
City: MILWAUKEE
ZIP: 53222-4721
Classification: B90
Category: Education
Rating: 3★
Coverage: A
Last Updated: Aug 2026
IRS Ruling Year: 2021
Foundation Code: 15
Form 990: On File

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CharityAI™ rates charities from 0 to 100 using public filings (IRS Form 990 and the equivalent registries outside the US) together with the information the charity itself provides on DonationX. Ratings are recalculated every quarter, without human bias, and shown as stars.

Four pillars

Financial strength30%

Program expense ratio, fundraising efficiency, operating reserves, liabilities and revenue diversification, compared with similar organizations.

Reliability20%

Standing with the registry, filing history, verification and how complete the profile is.

Effectiveness25%

How much goes to programs and how consistently the organization delivers them.

Impact25%

The outcomes the charity reports on DonationX: people served, cost per service and results.

Stars

★★★★★ 80–100 ★★★★☆ 60–79 ★★★☆☆ 40–59 ★★☆☆☆ 20–39 ★☆☆☆☆ 1–19

A pillar with no data counts as zero. Without impact metrics the score is capped at 59 (three stars): only the charity can supply that data.
The coverage grade (A to D) says how much filing data the score rests on; NONE means there is not enough to rate.
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