California · Nonprofit
CARLTHORP SCHOOL
CARLTHORP SCHOOL (California) receives grants from 44 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,160,331 to it, the largest being CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($5,202,250). 36 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 80% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $21M
- Funders on record
- 44
- Grants received
- $10M
- Net assets
- $51M
What Carlthorp School does
Mission
Carlthorp School is an independent, nonprofit day school for children in grades k-6. Carlthorp School provides a strong academic foundation in a diverse and nurturing school community that emphasizes traditional values, disciplined work habits, and excellence in order to prepare our students to achieve their highest potential in education and life.Carlthorp School, established in 1939, is the oldest independent school in santa monica. Though the breadth of our curriculum has radically expanded in the last 86 years, our basic philosophy remains the same. We focus on the child as a whole, helping the child to grow academically, socially, and ethically - all within the framework of a traditionally academic school. The school's traditional approach to education, coupled with positive reinforcement in a caring wholesome environment prepares children to excel in today's competitive society.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Program
Carlthorp School is accredited by the national association of independent schools, the california association of independent schools and the western association of schools and colleges. Carlthorp School received the "no child left behind" national blue ribbon of excellence award. 100% of Carlthorp School's 2025 graduating class attend the secondary school of their first choice.the school is traditionally and academically oriented. The curriculum is well-rounded and a solid academic foundation in math, reading, and english is stressed. Teachers utilize diverse teaching modalities and strategies. With two classes at each grade level of 20 students in each class, each student from kindergarten through sixth grade received individual attention. Thoroughness, accuracy and responsibility are stressed in all schoolwork, and special attention is given to necessary preparation for entrance to public and private secondary schools. During the 2024-25 school year, the school served approximately 280 students.
$13,607,505 spentof which $944,370 as grants$11,905,097 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $13,607,505.
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 2023 to 2024, from $50M to $61M (+23%).
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.
37% of CARLTHORP SCHOOL’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 8 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.
Board chair
Aaron Lewis
Board chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 9 funders to 21 funders, grant income rose $246k → $825k.
14 of 44 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 80% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of CARLTHORP SCHOOL’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 44 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
CARLTHORP SCHOOL leans on a few funders — its largest provides 51% of grant income and the top three 72%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
81% 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 CARLTHORP SCHOOL.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 35% · 2018 34% · 2019 30% · 2020 23% · 2021 23% · 2022 43% · 2023 38% — 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
52% of CARLTHORP SCHOOL's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 82% 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
80% of CARLTHORP SCHOOL's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $2.0M that is directly attributable, 72% of it comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $8.1M arriving through sponsors registered in 10 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
CARLTHORP SCHOOL runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 4,065 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 4,065 education nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Organizations like CARLTHORP SCHOOL
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
83% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- 416 San Vicente LLC · disregarded
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CARLTHORP SCHOOL: 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 CARLTHORP SCHOOL?
- CARLTHORP SCHOOL (California) receives grants from 44 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,160,331 to it, the largest being CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($5,202,250). 36 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 80% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does CARLTHORP SCHOOL have?
- IRS filings report 44 organizations giving $10,160,331 in grants to CARLTHORP SCHOOL, 36 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CARLTHORP SCHOOL?
- CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $5,202,250 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CARLTHORP SCHOOL 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.
Play a game about who funds Carlthorp School →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 44 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing