Virginia · Nonprofit
CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION
CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION (Virginia) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,782,000 to it, the largest being THE CHALLENGE FOUNDATION ($1,125,000). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $25M
- Funders on record
- 4
- Grants received
- $1.8M
- Net assets
- $53M
What Core Knowledge Foundation does
Mission
To advance excellence and equity in education for all children.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Core knowledge language arts (ckla) curriculum as of 2015, ckla instructional materials for prek grade 5 (teacher guides, activity books, and student books) have been available for free download through the core knowledge website. In 2023, we finished development of ckla middle schoole (grades 6 thorugh 8) materials. They are available for free download on our website (with the exception of materials under copyright) and are available for purchase.we also have made available for free download our ckla implementation resources guide. This guide organizes many free resources designed to strengthen teacher and leader competencies regarding different facets of the ckla program. In the guide, you will find links to helpful resoucrese such as on-demand webinars, turnkey training materials, videos, etc. See: https://www/coreknowledge.org/implementation/tools-resources/ckla-tools additionally, the foundation continues to offer free guidance viae-mail and phone support to those teachers and schools working toimplement ckla in their classromms.
$1,904,466 spent$13,318,526 earned by the program61% of program spendingCore knowledge history and geography (ckhg) curriculum inititally funded with a board-approved use of the foundation's own assets, the foundation received subsequent grant funding to continue development of ckhg. Instructional materials for 50+ units, k-grade 6 are available through our website for free download. For more information, see:https://www.coreknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ckhg_titles.pdfthe ckhg k-8 program includes highly engaging student editions, easy to use teacher guides with the background information teachers need embedded in the guide, and classroom sets of large, colorful timeline cards to bring historical events to life. The teacher guides also include: additional activities making cross-curricular connections to art, architecture, and music specific to the historical period and region of the world being studied. Digital resource links with instruction for virtual field trips to museums/historical sites across the us and around the world - suggestions for instructional adaptations forstudents needing additional support (students with special needs as well as english language learners), as well as challenges for students who more quickly grasp the…
$655,636 spent$4,494,620 earned by the program21% of program spendingCore knowledge science (cksci) curriculumthe core knowledge science (cksci) program includes a comprehensive elementary science curriculum, plus additional resources for teachers and students in k-grade 8.the curriculum provides students with a firm basis in the factual knowledge of the sciences and engineering design specified in the core knowledge science sequence. Additionally, this program has been informed by many positive aspects of the next generation science standards (ngss).the core knowledge science program includes: student readers: engagingly written to bring the wonders of the world right into your classroom, also available as e-books teacher guides: with detailed lesson plans and activity page masters, including student investigation guides and assessments and notes for ngss performance expectations online resources guides: with links to resources that support learning and engagement with the core ideas in science and engineering
$561,973 spent$3,852,531 earned by the program18% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,122,075.
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 2022 to 2023, from $16M to $35M (+123%).
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: 2020 5%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
0% of CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (23% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 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
John Ballen
Chairman
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base narrowed from 2 funders to 1 funder, grant income fell $1.0M → $1k.
From the IRS filings of CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). 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
CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 63% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 51% · 2018 100% · 2019 54% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 100% — 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.
Where its funders are
CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION draws 65% of its grant income from funders outside Virginia, across 4 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. 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
CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 4,064 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 4,064 education nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $21k on record.
- BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS$14k
- INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPLIES$7k
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 CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION
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 Virginia
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
55% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
98%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION: 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 CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION?
- CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION (Virginia) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,782,000 to it, the largest being THE CHALLENGE FOUNDATION ($1,125,000). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 4 organizations giving $1,782,000 in grants to CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION, 4 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION?
- THE CHALLENGE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,125,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Virginia. 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 Core Knowledge →
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 4 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