North Carolina · Nonprofit
SMART START ROWAN INC
SMART START ROWAN INC (North Carolina) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $13,801,978 to it, the largest being NORTH CAROLINA PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN INC ($13,616,039). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $3.4M
- Funders on record
- 9
- Grants received
- $14M
- Net assets
- $279k
What Smart Start Rowan Inc does
Mission
In collaboration with our community partners, we plan, fund and implement quality early childhood deucation, health, and family support initiatives.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
North carolina pre-kindergartengoal 5: to successfully administer the north carolina pre-kindergarden program, which is a state funded, high quality pre-kindergarten educational program designed to enhance school readiness and prepare four-year-olds for kindergarten.objective 1: 95% of families receiving ncpk services and responding to a survey will report that they strongly agree or agree that they feel their child is better prepared for kindergarten after participating in the nc pre-k program.stats: 377 children were served through the nc pre-k program across 17 sites and 28 classrooms.
$1,855,696 spentof which $1,750,158 as grants60% of program spendingChild care & education affordabilitygoal 1: to continue to partner with rowan county department of social services to assist with child care subsidy funding and implementation.objective 1: increase in average star ratings of subsidized child placements in regulated child care programs.objective 2: increase in the percentage of low-income children receiving subsidy in regulated child care programs.stats: - from 2002 - present, the percent of children enrolled in 4-or-5-star child care facilities has increased from 34% to 82%- from 2022 - present, the average star rating for children enrolled in 1-5-star licensed child care has increase from 2.98 to 4.67.- 179 children received smart start child care subsidy assistance through rowan county department of social services.- 20 licensed facilities/family child care homes, all 4 or 5 stars, received monetary enhancements for participation in our star license enhancement (child care quality enhancement) activity.
$440,439 spentof which $396,530 as grants14% of program spendingFamily supportgoal 3: expand the family support options available to parents in rowan county.objective 1: the majority of parents/caregivers of children ages 0-5 in rowan county who choose to participate in a parenting seminar/class/session sponsored by smart start rowan will feel that the program helped them deal more effectively with their child's behavior.objective 2: the majority of parents who voluntarily participate in a parent/child playgroup activity sponsored by smart start rowan will indicate improvement in the following parenting areas: 1) "I understand what to expect from children at different ages; 2) "I give the child in my care opportunities to learn and try new things; and 3) "I talk or share ideas about caring for children with another adult."stats:- 340 parent/caregivers participated in family support programs, including one-on-one and group parenting support, as well as parent/child playgroups- 9,498 children received books through our dolly parton's imagination library program- 440 participants attended 4 large parent-child interactive community events hosted by smart start rowan
$377,689 spentof which $59,922 as grants12% of program spendingChild care & education quality goal 2: maintain and further improve the quality of child care in rowan county.objective 1: ninety percent (90%) of child care professionals participating in a training and technical assistance program sponsored by smart start rowan will indicate that the services provided by that activity increased their knowledge of effective strategies and assisted them in making positive changes in their classrooms.objective 2: of the child care facilities that receive on-site technical assistance to increase star ratings, the average star rating after technical assistance began versus before it began will either be maintained or improves, based on a dcdee assessment conducted during the fiscal year.objective 3: of child care providers surveyed making use of the early learning resource center, most will indicate that the center has provided resources that enhance the quality of care in their classroom, as well as knowledge about smart start funded programs. Of families surveyed making use of the early learning resource center, most will report an increase in knowledge of developmentally appropriate activities to do with their child, as well as knowledge about…
$167,707 spentof which $1,000 as grants5% of program spendingHealth & safetygoal 4: improve the health of expecting mothers and children from birth to age five in rowan county.objective 1: healthcare providers served by smart start rowan activities will sustain a developmental screening rate of over ninety percent (90%) of all children seen by their practice.objective 2: 90% of families will indicate increased confidence in meeting their child's health services needs or that prenatal health services benefitted their family.stats:- 5 medical practices, including the rowan county health department, participated in child health and wellness programs that served over 8,500 children- 29 medical practitioners, trained in the reach out & read program, prescribed books to children for parents to read at home- 141 uninsured/underinsured pregnant women were seen during 1,101 prenatal visits at the rowan county health department- 39 children received a development screening as part of their well child check up at the rowan county health department- 61/63 children that received development screenings through our assuring better child health and development program received an appropriate referral
$230,519 spentof which $155,351 as grants8% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,072,050.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 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 $357k to $219k (−39%).
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 98% · 2021 99% · 2022 99% · 2023 98% · 2024 98% · 2025 98%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of SMART START ROWAN INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 6 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
Amy Brown
Executive director
Board chair
Jeanne Lemaster
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 4 funders, grant income fell $1.7M → $1.5M.
3 of 9 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 0% 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 SMART START ROWAN INC’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
SMART START ROWAN INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 99% 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
99% 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 SMART START ROWAN INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 98% · 2018 98% · 2019 98% · 2020 99% · 2021 99% · 2022 99% · 2023 99% — broadly stable.
“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
43% of SMART START ROWAN INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 44% 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
100% of SMART START ROWAN INC's grant income comes from North Carolina funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $15k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 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
SMART START ROWAN INC receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $14M to it.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 9,615 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like SMART START ROWAN INC
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 North Carolina
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
89% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for SMART START ROWAN INC: 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 SMART START ROWAN INC?
- SMART START ROWAN INC (North Carolina) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $13,801,978 to it, the largest being NORTH CAROLINA PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN INC ($13,616,039). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does SMART START ROWAN INC have?
- IRS filings report 9 organizations giving $13,801,978 in grants to SMART START ROWAN INC, 4 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SMART START ROWAN INC?
- NORTH CAROLINA PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN INC is the largest funder on record, with $13,616,039 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SMART START ROWAN INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in North Carolina. 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 2020–2025), and the filings of 9 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