Maryland · Nonprofit
THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED
THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED (Maryland) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $515,485 to it, the largest being MANN-PALLER FOUNDATION INC ($400,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $815k
- Funders on record
- 4
- Grants received
- $515k
- Net assets
- $551k
What The Ability Challenge Incorporated does
Mission
The ability challenge partners with schools, districts, and networks to develop and support authentically inclusive school communities and teams that work together to meet the unique needs of all learners.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Program
Our main program is a whole school improvement approach that starts with a comprehensive needs assessment with recommendations for special education improvement at the school and district level. After completing the assessment, we customize supports, training, coaching and other resources given to our partners to help them build systems and capacity for serving students with disabilities in their schools.
$578,965 spent$260,000 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $578,965.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2022, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2022, 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 $75k to $477k (+535%).
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: 2023 4% · 2024 16%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
68% of THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (57% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 3 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
Sarah Sandelius
CEO
Board chair
Stacy Nordlinger
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2022 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income held at $100k.
From the IRS filings of THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED’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
THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED leans on a few funders — its largest provides 78% 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
Largest funder’s share by year: 2022 100% · 2023 100% — 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.
Where its funders are
78% of THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED's grant income comes from Maryland 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
THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED has grown faster than three-quarters of the 22,812 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 22,812 education nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED
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 Maryland
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
79% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED: 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 THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED?
- THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED (Maryland) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $515,485 to it, the largest being MANN-PALLER FOUNDATION INC ($400,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED have?
- IRS filings report 4 organizations giving $515,485 in grants to THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED?
- MANN-PALLER FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $400,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE ABILITY CHALLENGE INCORPORATED find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Maryland. 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 Ability Challenge →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2022–2024), 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