South Carolina · Nonprofit
DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP
DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP (South Carolina) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,908,339 to it, the largest being SOUTH CAROLINA FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS BOARD OF TRUSTEES ($2,906,266). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $664k
- Funders on record
- 6
- Grants received
- $3.9M
- Net assets
- $45k
What Darlington County First Steps to School Readiness Partnership does
Mission
Our mission is that every south carolina child will arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Family strengthening-first steps works to increase parents' ability to stimulate their child's intellectual, social and physical development through evidence-based home visitation and parenting programs such as parents as teachers, parents are first and parent training.
$420,869 spent68% of program spendingHealthy start-first steps recognizes the importance of a healthy start in maximizing both school readiness and the long-term well being of the state's children. The initiative partners with families, the medical community and other stakeholders to leverage resrources for- and increase awareness of- the healthcare, nutrition and early developmental needs of the state's young children. They accomplish these goals through the early identification and referral program.
$140,739 spent23% of program spendingSchool transition-developed by south carolina first steps - and identified as a promising state practice by the national governor's association in 2005 - countdown to kindergarten is a home visitation program pairing the families of high-risk rising kindergartners with their future teachers during the summer before school entry. Teachers complete six visits with each family,centered upon classroom and content expectations.
$20,260 spent3% of program spendingIndirect program expenses
$39,405 spent6% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $621,273.
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 2021 to 2022, from $217k to $119k (−45%).
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 81% · 2018 75% · 2019 51% · 2020 80% · 2021 75% · 2022 14%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (57% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 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.
Board chair
Howard Nettles
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base narrowed from 3 funders to 2 funders, grant income fell $502k → $452k.
From the IRS filings of DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP’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
DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP leans on a few funders — its largest provides 74% of grant income and the top three 99%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
100% 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 DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 47% · 2018 66% · 2019 68% · 2020 62% · 2021 79% · 2022 72% · 2023 83% — 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
100% of DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP's grant income comes from South Carolina funders.
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
DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP's revenue grew 21% between 2017 and 2025.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 16,849 education nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP
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 South Carolina
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
95% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- South Carolina First Steps To · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP: 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 DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP?
- DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP (South Carolina) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,908,339 to it, the largest being SOUTH CAROLINA FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS BOARD OF TRUSTEES ($2,906,266). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP have?
- IRS filings report 6 organizations giving $3,908,339 in grants to DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP, 3 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP?
- SOUTH CAROLINA FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS BOARD OF TRUSTEES is the largest funder on record, with $2,906,266 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like DARLINGTON COUNTY FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS PARTNERSHIP find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in South Carolina. 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 Darlington County First Steps to School Readiness Partnership →
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 6 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