South Carolina · Nonprofit
University School of the Lowcountry
University School of the Lowcountry (South Carolina) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $16,968 to it, the largest being ROBERT & JOAN DIRCKS FOUNDATION INC ($10,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.6M
- Funders on record
- 3
- Grants received
- $17k
- Net assets
- $219k
What University School of the Lowcountry does
Mission
University School of the Lowcountry is an independent school serving grades 3-12 that engages students in a variety of empirically proven and forward-thinking educational and service opportunities both in and outside of the classroom and challenges students in age-appropriate ways to excel academically while growing in emotional intelligence in a culture that teaches and practices the importance of citizenship.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Program
Provided educational programs for approximately 85 students in grades 3 through 12 in a flexible combination of acceleration, enrichment and in the application of higher-level thinking skills. Provided $98,360 in financial assistance to 12 students. VisionOur vision is to develop outstanding students who are well-prepared to be scholars, leaders, and global citizens of the future.Core ValuesWe develop discerning smart students by learning first-hand from experts about a range of topics outside the classroom.We foster leadership by providing opportunities to lead.We create a caring and inclusive environment by embracing diverse perspectives and individuals.We nurture compassionate and responsible students by serving our neighbors and community organizations. We encourage wellness through multi-faceted principles that promote student development and resiliency.Community SupportCollected, delivered and distributed $766 of food and necessities to needy residents in the North Charleston area.
$1,489,305 spentof which $99,126 as grants$1,400,604 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $1,489,305.
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 $280k to $729k (+161%).
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: 2021 10% · 2022 5%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
8% of University School of the Lowcountry’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 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
Tanya Staubes
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2023: the base narrowed from 2 funders to 1 funder, grant income fell $1k → $119.
1 of 3 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 3% 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 University School of the Lowcountry’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
University School of the Lowcountry leans on a few funders — its largest provides 59% 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: 2020 89% · 2021 86% · 2022 90% · 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
University School of the Lowcountry draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside South Carolina, across 2 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $468 arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state 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
University School of the Lowcountry is better cushioned than half of the 9,398 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 9,398 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like University School of the Lowcountry
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
91% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for University School of the Lowcountry: 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 University School of the Lowcountry?
- University School of the Lowcountry (South Carolina) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $16,968 to it, the largest being ROBERT & JOAN DIRCKS FOUNDATION INC ($10,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does University School of the Lowcountry have?
- IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $16,968 in grants to University School of the Lowcountry, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of University School of the Lowcountry?
- ROBERT & JOAN DIRCKS FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $10,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like University School of the Lowcountry 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 University School of the Lowcountry →
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 3 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