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Nonprofit · EIN 94-3059243

CHILDREN NOW

Tax-exempt · OAKLAND, CA 94618

Financials

$5.3M$7.9M2023$9.9M$8.1M2024
Revenue Expenses · by fiscal year end
Financials of CHILDREN NOW by year, from its e-filed returns
Year endedFormRevenueExpensesNet incomeTotal assetsLiabilitiesNet assets
December 31, 2024990$9,915,882$8,097,092$1,818,790$15,011,261$1,483,532$13,527,729
December 31, 2023990$5,339,194$7,850,194-$2,511,000$13,599,138$1,890,199$11,708,939
Financial details: 990 for the year ended December 31, 2024

Revenue

Contributions, gifts and grants
$9,160,923
Program service revenue
$303,944
Investment income
$368,486
Net gain from sales of assets
$6,827
Other revenue
$82,529

Expenses

Grants and similar amounts paid
$0
Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
$461,188
Other salaries and wages
$4,782,242
Salaries, compensation and benefits (total)
$6,628,389
Professional fundraising fees
$0
Legal fees
$5,713
Accounting fees
$32,500
Occupancy
$564,297
Travel
$58,909
Program services (functional)
$6,652,895
Management and general (functional)
$863,046
Fundraising (functional)
$581,151

Balance sheet and other

Total assets, start of year
$13,599,138
Total assets, end of year
$15,011,261
Total liabilities, end of year
$1,483,532
Net assets, end of year
$13,527,729
Net assets without donor restrictions
$6,907,430
Net assets with donor restrictions
$6,620,299
Gross receipts
$9,915,882
Employees
46
Volunteers
22
Year formed
1988
State of legal domicile
CA

From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.

Officers, directors and key employees

As listed on the 990 for the year ended December 31, 2024, highest compensation first.

NameTitleHours / weekCompensationOther / benefits
EDWARD LEMPERTPresident
Officer
40$461,188$118,402
VINCENT STEWARTVP, Policy & Prog40$268,966$91,942
SUSANNA KNIFFENSR MANAGING DIR40$269,502$58,565
ALEX MATIASVP, OPS. & ENG.40$238,208$39,071
KELLY HARDYSR MANAGING DIR40$206,615$66,358
STACY LEESR MANAGING DIR40$216,469$53,202
JASON SALZETTIBOARD CHAIR
Trustee or director, Officer
1.25$0$0
BRANDON MARTINEZ-LARRAGOITIFINANCE COMM.
Trustee or director
0.5$0$0
JANE GARDNERCHAIR EMERITUS
Trustee or director
1$0$0
JOHN GARCIAVice Chair
Trustee or director, Officer
0.75$0$0
MARK T JOHNSENTreasurer
Trustee or director, Officer
1.25$0$0
NANCY MURRAYAffil Rel Comm.
Trustee or director
0.25$0$0
GAY KRAUSESecretary
Trustee or director, Officer
0.75$0$0
ANTOINETTE MAYERNOM. COMM.
Trustee or director
0.75$0$0
DENISE MCCAIN-THARNSTROMAUDIT COMMITTEE
Trustee or director
0.5$0$0
990 for the year ended December 31, 2023: 15 people
NameTitleHours / weekCompensationOther / benefits
EDWARD LEMPERTPresident
Officer
40$602,802$41,650
VINCENT STEWARTVP, Policy & Prog40$260,981$42,507
SUSANNA KNIFFENSR MANAGING DIR40$208,034$50,937
EILEEN ESPEJOSR MANAGING DIR40$213,661$35,924
ALEX MATIASVP, OPS. & ENG.40$220,849$17,819
STACY LEESR MANAGING DIR40$208,099$20,700
JASON SALZETTIBOARD CHAIR
Trustee or director, Officer
1.25$0$0
BRANDON MARTINEZ-LARRAGOITIFINANCE COMM.
Trustee or director
0.75$0$0
JANE GARDNERCHAIR EMERITUS
Trustee or director
1$0$0
JOHN GARCIAVice Chair
Trustee or director
0.75$0$0
MARK T JOHNSENTreasurer
Trustee or director, Officer
1.25$0$0
NANCY MURRAYAffil Rel Comm.
Trustee or director
0.25$0$0
GAY KRAUSESecretary
Trustee or director, Officer
0.75$0$0
ANTOINETTE MAYERNOM. COMM.
Trustee or director
0.75$0$0
DENISE MCCAIN-THARNSTROMAUDIT COMMITTEE
Trustee or director
0.5$0$0

Address and contacts

Address (IRS master file)
6250 CLAREMONT AVE STE 230, OAKLAND, CA 94618-1324
Mailing address (990-N for 2014)
1404 Franklin Street, Oakland CA 94612
Principal officer (990 for 2024)
EDWARD LEMPERT, 6250 CLAREMONT AVE 230, OAKLAND, CA 94618
Principal officer (990-N for 2014)
Edward Lempert, 1404 Franklin Street, Oakland CA 94612
Signed the 990
EDWARD LEMPERT, President
Phone
(510) 763-2444
Return prepared by
Perotti & Carrade CPAs

California records

California keeps its own records of charities and corporations. Search them by EIN 94-3059243 or by the name CHILDREN NOW.

Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers
Registration status and filed reports (CT-TR-1, RRF-1)

Mission

Children Now harnesses our collective power to advance equitable solutions for California's kids. Children Now breaks down systemic barriers so that all children have the services and supports they need to reach their full potential. By employing a game-changing, whole-child, antiracist, connector model, we are transforming childrens advocacy, bringing together millions of diverse voices, and creating power for California kids.

990 for the year ended December 31, 2024

Program accomplishments

  • HealthChildren Nows health program focuses on ensuring that children pre-natal to age 26 have meaningful and equitable access to high-quality, culturally responsive, affordable health care, including physical, behavioral, and oral health care services, and other key services like home visiting and developmental screenings that are vital for Californias youngest children. Through our research, analysis, policy development, education, outreach, and advocacy efforts, we have achieved the following: worked with the legislature and Governor on updating current law, ensuring that children enrolling in transitional kindergarten (TK) receive oral health assessments; secured funding for 54 community-based organizations that serve infants and toddlers through $55 million in early childhood wraparound services, with the latest awards from the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative; crafted a bill to remove barriers to youth seeking support for substance use issues; built a strong coalition and communications campaign to vocalize issues around accessing mental health care under employer-sponsored coverage; led policy development efforts to allow non-licensed professionals, like community health workers, to provide and get reimbursed for asthma preventive services and in-home visits in Medi-Cal; continued to push the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to hold plans accountable for delivering and coordinating basic care for kids, for meaningful quality improvement, and for true community reinvestment; secured $33 million annually in the state budget to implement a policy for Multi-Year Continuous Enrollment in Medi-Cal for children under five, protecting children under 5 from unnecessarily losing their coverage; developed accountable care coordination policies, including Enhanced Care management and a Closed Loop Referral policy, to take in effect in 2025; continued leading Medi-Cal Excellence in Early Childhood Outcomes Collaborative Learning Community, the unique collaborative project with DHCS focused on improving infant well-child visits; launched Hearing Aid Coverage for Children Program (HACCP) and protected $10 million allocated for HACCP hearing aids and services in the state budget; led the California Alliance for Childrens Environmental Health, raising awareness of environmental health issues and inequities affecting children, and built momentum behind focusing policy priorities to improve environmental conditions for children; co-led a Caregiver Advocacy Circle to support caregiver advocates who sit on state workgroups; provided technical assistance to caregivers to help them push forward specific policy items, such as private duty nursing, aiding their work to become a stronger voice in childrens health policymaking; and provided technical assistance to local health departments in eight Central Valley counties to implement their oral health improvement plans and establish or expand their school dental programs.
    Expenses $2,770,803 · revenue $138,608
  • EducationChildren Nows education program aims to ensure every child has access to high-quality early learning opportunities, a rigorous TK-12 education, including high-quality STEM, afterschool and summer programs, and access to affordable higher education. Through research and analysis, policy development, education and outreach, communications, convenings, and advocacy, we have worked to dismantle inequitable and racially discriminatory systems and achieved the following: protected $8.8 billion in funding for public schools during state budget negotiations; improved the distribution of LCFFs $300 million of equity multiplier funds that provide additional dollars to schools with high needs students; secured the inclusion of science on the California School Dashboard, the statewide school accountability system, benefiting 5.8 million students in the California public education system; protected the states commitment to expanding child care indefinitely; significantly improved school accountability via changes to the LCAP, requiring districts to focus on closing achievement gaps and evaluation the effectiveness of their actions of a three-year period; played a leadership role in protecting and continuing investments in our states teacher recruitment, retention, and preparation programs; successfully defended the Golden State Teacher Grant Program against proposed cuts; worked to create a paid educator apprenticeship pathway into teaching that addresses a key systemic barrier teachers face when entering the profession, which is lack of compensation while earning a teaching credential and the high cost of preparation programs; increased school district accountability for reclassifying English learners (EL) students in a timely fashion by increasing the performance level thresholds on the English Learner Progress Indicator, which measures the percentage of ELs who are making progress towards English language proficiency; provided leadership on the implementation of Californias C2C data system at every stage of its development, including budget advocacy to fund the system, shape its scope and scale, and guided C2C leadership and staff on data accessibility; advocated for the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Todays Youth Act, which strengthens state protections against any school district policy, rule, or regulation that would require the disclosure of information that relates to a students sexual orientation, gender identify, or gender expression without the students consent; worked to remove barriers faced by an increasing number of school districts seeking to enter into College and Career Access Pathway agreements to provide dual enrollment courses for high school students with community colleges; actively engaged with the workgroup convened by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to revise the Child Development Permit, the required credential for adults working with children in early learning and care settings, including California State Preschool; Children Now continued its leadership on TK, the landmark program we helped to establish to ensure universal access to preschool in California; worked to extend the home visiting program enrollment period to 36 months and extend the time that families can participate; and restored critical funding to the CalWORKS Home Visiting Program, when the Governor proposed a 45% across the board cut to the program.
    Expenses $2,739,194 · revenue $143,670
  • Child WelfareChildren Nows child welfare program works to address the comprehensive health, education, and social service needs of children in the child welfare system. Through our research, policy development, education, and communications efforts, we have achieved the following: successfully protected the Family Urgent Response System (FURS), a 24/7 in-person helpline and response system for foster youth and families, which was proposed for elimination in the 2024-25 state budget despite the programs success in answering nearly 5,000 calls a year; successfully opposed an additional $178.5 million in proposed cuts to child welfare programs; helped prevent the elimination of the Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program and reductions to the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program, the Bringing Families Home Program, and Caregiver Approvals; supported coalition efforts to lift up multiple bills to protect and strengthen family economic support efforts, including creating HOPE accounts and supporting the GAINS Act for Parents Success; supported a coalition to oppose the Taxpayer and Government Accountability Act, which would have rolled back funding for programs serving children and families; provided resources and technical assistance to local education agencies with students in foster care performing at the lowest performance level as they developed goals to address the needs of their students and improve outcomes; monitored foster care rate reform to ensure: 1) children and caregivers are able to quickly and easily access strength-building and maintenance funds to support timely engagement in enrichment activities; 2) the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths tool is utilized appropriately, and all youth in foster care are assessed regularly and consistently; 3) additional training, support, and guidance is provided to caregivers working with kids with higher levels of need; and 4) critical supports such as respite care and school transportation are funded appropriately through the new rate structure and can be easily accessed as needs arise; coordinated feedback from more than 100 child welfare and health stakeholders on the BH-CONNECT proposal and provided feedback on the effective transition of more than 13,000 youth in foster care to new Medi-Cal managed care plans and the Health Care Program for Children in Foster Care transition to a standalone program; and closely monitored the implementation of the new Enhanced Care Management benefit for kids in foster care and elevated the need for Specialty Mental Health Services access data to ensure youth with child welfare involvement have access to services as intended.
    Expenses $1,001,794 · revenue $1,666
  • Research and Data CollectionChildren Nows research program produces comprehensive reports, factsheets, infographics, and data-driven policy briefs on topics related to our program areas. We produce two marquee publications: 1) the California Childrens Report Card, which is the states most comprehensive report on childrens health, education, and well-being, and provides up-to-date data on the status of Californias children, highlights outcomes disparities resulting from decades of institutional racism, addresses recent policy developments, and delivers research and data-driven recommendations for improving childrens well-being, and 2) the California County Scorecard of Childrens Well-Being, which provides policymakers and a diverse range of community leaders and other stakeholders a unique and consumable analysis with county data over time, by race and ethnicity, and relative to other counties. This interactive online tool provides a user-friendly interface so viewers can understand counties unique strengths and vulnerabilities in meeting childrens needs, as well as serious inequities in child well-being. The organization also released several research briefs and data profiles, including: a brief, Big Feelings: Parents and Caregivers Need More Help to Support Children Under 5, that details parental reflections from interpersonal to systemic that affected their childs healthy brain development; a chartbook, Preventive Services for Kids in Medi-Cal, which gives a snapshot of childrens preventive services in Medi-Cal, which is the source of health coverage for over 5.5 million kids in California; a brief, Reimagining Respite Care for Children and Youth in Foster Care, which reviews existing research on respite care and its benefits to families.Our marquee publications and numerous reports and briefs are widely distributed to the public, including all state and local policymakers, the media, service providers, coalition partners, and civic organizations. These research publications, as well as the outreach efforts, briefings, and widespread media coverage generated by their release, help motivate key stakeholders and policymakers to make childrens issues a top priority, both locally and at the state level.
    Expenses $141,104 · revenue $20,000

What it must file and when

IRS records say it files Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N. Its accounting year ends in December, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.

Tax yearYear endedDueIRS public records
2025December 31, 2025May 15, 2026Not on file
2024December 31, 2024May 15, 2025990 on file
2023December 31, 2023May 15, 2024990 on file

IRS record

EIN
94-3059243
Tax-exempt status
501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization
Foundation status
Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
Donations deductible (Pub 78)
Public charity, 50% deduction limit
Exempt since
1993
Accounting year ends
December
Files
Form 990 or 990-EZ
Category (NTEE)
Human services (P300)
Assets (IRS master file)
$15,011,261
Income (IRS master file)
$9,915,882

Filing history

FormYear endedRevenueExpensesAssetsReturn
990December 2024$9,915,882$8,097,092$15,011,261IRS
990December 2023$5,339,194$7,850,194$13,599,138XML
990December 2022$9,145,747$7,355,178$16,640,807IRS
990December 2021–––IRS
990December 2020–––IRS
990December 2018–––IRS
990December 2017–––IRS
990-N for 2014
Officer: Edward Lempert
December 31, 2014≤ $50,000 receipts––e-Postcard

990-N: the IRS bulk file holds only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years come from archived copies of that file since 2020 and can have gaps (the IRS e-Postcard search lists every one). 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS (search EIN 94-3059243).

Questions about CHILDREN NOW

What is the EIN of CHILDREN NOW?
The employer identification number (EIN) of CHILDREN NOW is 94-3059243.
Is CHILDREN NOW tax-exempt?
Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 1993.
Are donations to CHILDREN NOW tax-deductible?
Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).
Which annual return does CHILDREN NOW file?
Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N.
When is the next return of CHILDREN NOW due?
The return for tax year 2025 (the year ending December 31, 2025) is due May 15, 2026. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.
When did CHILDREN NOW last file with the IRS?
The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended December 2024.
Who is the principal officer of CHILDREN NOW?
The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2024 names EDWARD LEMPERT.
Who are the officers and directors of CHILDREN NOW?
The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2024 lists 15 people; 6 received compensation from the organization, the highest $461,188 (EDWARD LEMPERT, President).
How much revenue does CHILDREN NOW have?
On its 990 for the year ended December 31, 2024 it reported revenue of $9,915,882, expenses of $8,097,092 and total assets of $15,011,261 at year end.

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