California · Nonprofit
CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION
CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION (California) receives grants from 30 organizations whose IRS filings report $52,508,026 to it, the largest being Walton Family Foundation Inc ($14,830,000). 17 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $13M
- Funders on record
- 30
- Grants received
- $53M
- Net assets
- $17M
What California Charter Schools Association does
Mission
To meet parent, educator, and community need for great public school options by supporting and advocating for high quality non-profit charter schools and sharing their success throughout california's public schools.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Defending and protecting charter schools- government affairs: influences the statewide policy environment for charter public schools in california through legislative and regulatory advocacy. - charter schools legal defense fund: addresses challenges confronting charter public schools through legal advocacy and strategic litigation.- local advocacy and renewal supports: strengthens the local ecosystem by unifying members in collective action and advocating directly with local elected officials and influencers. Prepares member schools for charter renewal through tools, trainings, individualized consultation, and cohort supports. - public relations: elevates the successes and stories of member charter schools and defends the movement through owned and earned media.
$7,070,887 spentof which $2,069,770 as grants$100,000 earned by the program69% of program spendingMember and stakeholder engagement- membership engagement: provides members with access to critical information, exceptional resources and convenings, strategic leadership, and a powerful collective movement. - california charter schools conference: convenes charter school leaders, teachers, staff, board members, supporters, and vendors for inspiration, learning, and connection. - vendor membership: connects vendor partners to member charter schools to support school operations. - public relations and creative services: supports member charter schools in strengthening their public relations and communications strategies. - data services: enhances access to and understanding of charter school data through data analytics and visualization services for other charter support organizations and educational institutions.
$2,827,400 spentof which $40,000 as grants$2,242,050 earned by the program27% of program spendingCharter school growth fund- a program designed to accelerate charter school growth in california.
$401,000 spentof which $401,000 as grants4% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $10,299,287.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $27M to $33M (+20%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 2% · 2018 2% · 2019 4% · 2020 4% · 2021 9% · 2022 12%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
80% of CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (23% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Myrna Castrejon
President and CEO
Board chair
Cristina De Jesus
Board chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2017 and FY2018 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base narrowed from 12 funders to 9 funders, grant income fell $10M → $3.8M.
10 of 30 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 39% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $953k from 2 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest California Charter Schools Association Advocates). These are real filings, and they are not money CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION raised.
From the IRS filings of CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 29 of 30 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 28% of grant income and the top three 65%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
50% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 37% · 2018 29% · 2019 29% · 2020 45% · 2021 82% · 2022 79% · 2023 73% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
48% of CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 57% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION draws 55% of its grant income from funders outside California, across 5 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $20M arriving through sponsors registered in 6 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION's revenue fell 43% between 2017 and 2025.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,758 education nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $3.6M on record.
- Department of Education$3.6M
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
73% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
66%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Ccsa Advocates · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION?
- CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION (California) receives grants from 30 organizations whose IRS filings report $52,508,026 to it, the largest being Walton Family Foundation Inc ($14,830,000). 17 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION have?
- IRS filings report 30 organizations giving $52,508,026 in grants to CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION, 17 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION?
- Walton Family Foundation Inc is the largest funder on record, with $14,830,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 30 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing