Attach to Form 990 or Form 990-EZ.
Go to
www.irs.gov/Form990 for instructions and the latest information.
| (i) Name of supported organization | (ii) EIN | (iii) Type of organization (described on lines 1- 10 above (see instructions)) | (iv) Is the organization listed in your governing document? | (v) Amount of monetary support (see instructions) | (vi) Amount of other support (see instructions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | |||||
|
Total |
||||||
Calendar year (or fiscal year beginning in) ![]() |
(a) 2016 | (b) 2017 | (c) 2018 | (d) 2019 | (e) 2020 | (f) Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gifts, grants, contributions, and membership fees received. (Do not include any "unusual grant.") .. | 693,538 | 2,989,235 | 1,565,117 | 724,240 | 1,389,634 | 7,361,764 |
| 2 | Tax revenues levied for the organization's benefit and either paid to or expended on its behalf.... | 0 | |||||
| 3 | The value of services or facilities furnished by a governmental unit to the organization without charge.. | 0 | |||||
| 4 | Total. Add lines 1 through 3 | 693,538 | 2,989,235 | 1,565,117 | 724,240 | 1,389,634 | 7,361,764 |
| 5 | The portion of total contributions by each person (other than a governmental unit or publicly supported organization) included on line 1 that exceeds 2% of the amount shown on line 11, column (f).. | 3,130,250 | |||||
| 6 | Public support. Subtract line 5 from line 4. | 4,231,514 | |||||
Calendar year
(or fiscal year beginning in) ![]() |
(a) 2016 | (b) 2017 | (c) 2018 | (d) 2019 | (e) 2020 | (f) Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Amounts from line 4.. | 693,538 | 2,989,235 | 1,565,117 | 724,240 | 1,389,634 | 7,361,764 |
| 8 | Gross income from interest, dividends, payments received on securities loans, rents, royalties and income from similar sources... | 487,208 | 550,029 | 646,420 | 540,226 | 426,957 | 2,650,840 |
| 9 | Net income from unrelated business activities, whether or not the business is regularly carried on.. | ||||||
| 10 | Other income. Do not include gain or loss from the sale of capital assets (Explain in Part VI.).. | 20,000 | 20,577 | 1,286 | 24,668 | 11,311 | 77,842 |
| 11 | Total support. Add lines 7 through 10 | 10,090,446 | |||||
Calendar year (or fiscal year beginning in) ![]() |
(a) 2016 | (b) 2017 | (c) 2018 | (d) 2019 | (e) 2020 | (f) Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gifts, grants, contributions, and membership fees received. (Do not include any "unusual grants.") . | ||||||
| 2 | Gross receipts from admissions, merchandise sold or services performed, or facilities furnished in any activity that is related to the organization's tax-exempt purpose | ||||||
| 3 | Gross receipts from activities that are not an unrelated trade or business under section 513 ..... | ||||||
| 4 | Tax revenues levied for the organization's benefit and either paid to or expended on its behalf... | ||||||
| 5 | The value of services or facilities furnished by a governmental unit to the organization without charge | ||||||
| 6 | Total. Add lines 1 through 5 | ||||||
| 7a | Amounts included on lines 1, 2, and 3 received from disqualified persons | ||||||
| b | Amounts included on lines 2 and 3 received from other than disqualified persons that exceed the greater of $5,000 or 1% of the amount on line 13 for the year. | ||||||
| c | Add lines 7a and 7b.. | ||||||
| 8 | Public support. (Subtract line 7c from line 6.) | ||||||
Calendar year (or fiscal year beginning in) ![]() |
(a) 2016 | (b) 2017 | (c) 2018 | (d) 2019 | (e) 2020 | (f) Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Amounts from line 6... | ||||||
| 10a | Gross income from interest, dividends, payments received on securities loans, rents, royalties and income from similar sources.. | ||||||
| b | Unrelated business taxable income (less section 511 taxes) from businesses acquired after June 30, 1975. | ||||||
| c | Add lines 10a and 10b. | ||||||
| 11 | Net income from unrelated business activities not included in line 10b, whether or not the business is regularly carried on. | ||||||
| 12 | Other income. Do not include gain or loss from the sale of capital assets (Explain in Part VI.) .. | ||||||
| 13 | Total support. (Add lines 9, 10c, 11, and 12.).. | ||||||
| Section A - Adjusted Net Income | (A) Prior Year |
(B) Current Year (optional) |
||||
| 1 | Net short-term capital gain | 1 | ||||
| 2 | Recoveries of prior-year distributions | 2 | ||||
| 3 | Other gross income (see instructions) | 3 | ||||
| 4 | Add lines 1 through 3 | 4 | ||||
| 5 | Depreciation and depletion | 5 | ||||
| 6 | Portion of operating expenses paid or incurred for production or collection of gross income or for management, conservation, or maintenance of property held for production of income (see instructions) | 6 | ||||
| 7 | Other expenses (see instructions) | 7 | ||||
| 8 | Adjusted Net Income (subtract lines 5, 6 and 7 from line 4) | 8 | ||||
| Section B - Minimum Asset Amount | (A) Prior Year |
(B) Current Year (optional) |
||||
| 1 | Aggregate fair market value of all non-exempt-use assets (see instructions for short tax year or assets held for part of year): | 1 | ||||
| a | Average monthly value of securities | 1a | ||||
| b | Average monthly cash balances | 1b | ||||
| c | Fair market value of other non-exempt-use assets | 1c | ||||
| d | Total (add lines 1a, 1b, and 1c) | 1d | ||||
| e |
Discount claimed for blockage or other factors (explain in detail in Part VI): |
|||||
| 2 | Acquisition indebtedness applicable to non-exempt use assets | 2 | ||||
| 3 | Subtract line 2 from line 1d | 3 | ||||
| 4 | Cash deemed held for exempt use. Enter 0.015 of line 3 (for greater amount, see instructions). | 4 | ||||
| 5 | Net value of non-exempt-use assets (subtract line 4 from line 3) | 5 | ||||
| 6 | Multiply line 5 by 0.035 | 6 | ||||
| 7 | Recoveries of prior-year distributions | 7 | ||||
| 8 | Minimum Asset Amount (add line 7 to line 6) | 8 | ||||
| Section C - Distributable Amount | Current Year | |||||
| 1 | Adjusted net income for prior year (from Section A, line 8, Column A) | 1 | ||||
| 2 | Enter 85% of line 1 | 2 | ||||
| 3 | Minimum asset amount for prior year (from Section B, line 8, Column A) | 3 | ||||
| 4 | Enter greater of line 2 or line 3 | 4 | ||||
| 5 | Income tax imposed in prior year | 5 | ||||
| 6 | Distributable Amount. Subtract line 5 from line 4, unless subject to emergency temporary reduction (see instructions) | 6 | ||||
| Section D - Distributions | Current Year | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Amounts paid to supported organizations to accomplish exempt purposes | 1 | |
|
2
Amounts paid to perform activity that directly furthers exempt purposes of supported organizations, in excess of income from activity |
2 | |
| 3 Administrative expenses paid to accomplish exempt purposes of supported organizations | 3 | |
| 4 Amounts paid to acquire exempt-use assets | 4 | |
| 5 Qualified set-aside amounts (prior IRS approval required - provide details in Part VI) | 5 | |
| 6 Other distributions (describe in Part VI). See instructions | 6 | |
| 7Total annual distributions. Add lines 1 through 6. | 7 | |
|
8
Distributions to attentive supported organizations to which the organization is responsive (provide details in Part VI). See instructions |
8 | |
| 9 Distributable amount for 2020 from Section C, line 6 | 9 | |
| 10 Line 8 amount divided by Line 9 amount | 10 | |
| Section E - Distribution Allocations (see instructions) |
(i) Excess Distributions |
(ii) Underdistributions Pre-2020 |
(iii) Distributable Amount for 2020 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Distributable amount for 2020 from Section C, line 6 | ||||
|
2
Underdistributions, if any, for years prior to 2019 (reasonable cause required-- explain in Part VI). See instructions. |
||||
| 3 Excess distributions carryover, if any, to 2020: | ||||
| a From 2015....... | ||||
| b From 2016....... | ||||
| c From 2017....... | ||||
| d From 2018....... | ||||
| e From 2019....... | ||||
| fTotal of lines 3a through e | ||||
| g Applied to underdistributions of prior years | ||||
| h Applied to 2020 distributable amount | ||||
|
i
Carryover from 2015 not applied (see instructions) |
||||
| j Remainder. Subtract lines 3g, 3h, and 3i from line 3f. | ||||
| 4Distributions for 2020 from Section D, line 7: | ||||
| $ | ||||
| a Applied to underdistributions of prior years | ||||
| b Applied to 2020 distributable amount | ||||
| c Remainder. Subtract lines 4a and 4b from line 4. | ||||
|
5
Remaining underdistributions for years prior to 2020, if any. Subtract lines 3g and 4a from line 2. If the amount is greater than zero, explain in Part VI. See instructions. |
||||
|
6
Remaining underdistributions for 2020. Subtract lines 3h and 4b from line 1. If the amount is greater than zero, explain in Part VI. See instructions. |
||||
|
7 Excess distributions carryover to 2021. Add lines 3j and 4c. |
||||
| 8 Breakdown of line 7: | ||||
| a Excess from 2016..... | ||||
| b Excess from 2017..... | ||||
| c Excess from 2018..... | ||||
| d Excess from 2019..... | ||||
| e Excess from 2020..... | ||||
| Facts And Circumstances Test |
|---|
| Return Reference | Explanation |
|---|
| Software ID: | |
| Software Version: |
Attach to Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Go to www.irs.gov/Form990 for the latest information.
| Return Reference | Explanation |
|---|---|
| PART III, LINE 4A (1) | CONTINUED FROM FORM 990, The Southern Education Foundation's mission is to advance equity and excellence in education for all students in the South, particularly low-income students and students of color. SEF uses collaboration, advocacy, and research to improve outcomes from early childhood to adulthood. Our core belief is that education is the vehicle by which all students get fair chances to develop their talents and contribute to the common good. SEF strives to fulfill its mission through the following core program areas: expanding early learning opportunities, advancing public education and improving college access and completion. SEF executes five primary strategies across our programs: -Leveraging knowledge of the field: by establishing and operating task forces, work groups, and learning communities to organize knowledge and advance new solutions to long standing problems; -Putting good ideas to a fair test: promoting, conducting, using pilots and evaluations to shape policy and practice; -Mobilizing the public: through direct engagement to educate and organize, providing research, tools, and in some cases capital assistance to organizations for advancing public education through policy and practice reforms that improve learning opportunities for vulnerable children and youth; -Leadership Development: advancing the will, skill, and capacity of change agents focused on equity in education in the South through fellowships from undergraduates to C-suite professionals; -Communications as a change strategy: conducting and commissioning research and messaging campaigns to support progressive public policy and practice reforms in education, from early learning through higher education. A summary of our strategies, activities and accomplishments in 2020 follows for each program area. PART III, LINE 4A Advancing Public Education: Public education for all children has long been a cornerstone of democracy in the United States, and the American South has been the center of the battle to achieve this goal. A perennial threat is the disinvestment in our public schools and increasing efforts to divert funds to private and charter schools as a hindrance from achieving equity in education for all, and we work to push back on these efforts and advance well-funded, safe, supportive, and diverse public schools that are held to meaningful and fair standards. Our Strategy: -Informing and supporting public education campaigns across the South, to help engage, connect, and align diverse coalitions within and across states to employ multi-strategy approaches to advance public education; -Regionalizing efforts through policy research and communications efforts, to help marshal evidence about what works in the region and strengthen the public education narrative; and -Advancing ideas about teaching and learning to provide education advocates with where defensive battles can become offensive ones that shift from simply protecting public education to re-envisioning public education systems that support all children. In 2020, SEF used a number of initiatives to implement this strategy - support for advocacy campaigns, communications, policy research and data sharing across the country and across the South. SEF redefined principles and positions considered to be critical to improving K-12 public education. Most of this work was done by working closely throughout the year with both national and regional stakeholders interested in education justice in the American South. SEF joined 104 partner organizations in a collaborative effort on K-12 and Higher Education issues throughout communities in the South. Our vision for education equity includes a focus on; meaningful learning, professional capacity, sufficient resources, and connected communities. |
| PART III, LINE 4A (2) | Southern Education Leadership Initiative Embedded across the three programs' strategy, is SEF's leadership development initiative, the Southern Education Leadership Initiative (SELI). SELI was developed in 2004 to honor the 50 year anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. For a decade, SELI has provided intensive trainings and paid summer fellowships to a diverse and inspired group of 175 college and graduate level students interested in working with nonprofit organizations to make systemic changes in education policy and practice. Fellowship Overview The Southern Education Leadership Initiative (SELI) is an intensive, eight-week, paid summer fellowship for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students interested in advancing racial equity and improving education across the pre-kindergarten to college continuum. A continuation of SEF's legacy of educating leaders in the South, which spans more than a century, SELI's 2004 launch marked the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. Our initiative recognized that there is still important work to be done to ensure that all children, irrespective of race or class, receive an excellent education. Placed in nonprofits, school districts, higher education institutions, or state education agencies in the South, SELI fellows spend the summer developing as leaders, engaging with valuable stakeholders, and acquiring practical job skills through direct learning experiences. Over SELI's tenure, more than 225 talented and diverse young leaders have conducted important research, policy analysis, advocacy, and organizing efforts for over 100 partner organizations. SELI alum can be found today working as educators, policymakers, researchers, community organizers, and committed civic leaders dedicated to improving the life chances of all children. The fellowship is delivered via three key activities: Orientation Training, Placement, and the Closing Meeting. The Orientation Training takes place in May each summer and exposes students to research and data around racial and socio-economic disparities in education, stresses the importance of education equity, offers site visits to see top issues in education first hand, and provides opportunities to learn from inspiring leaders. Students depart from Orientation to their placement sites, where they work for eight weeks on projects to advance the capacity of their host sites, while developing their own leadership potential in the educational equity field. The Closing Meeting, held every July, presents an opportunity for fellows to share lessons learned, reflect, and brainstorm on how to continue making change as part of a network of emerging leaders in the sector. |
| PART III, LINE 4A (3) | Racial Equity Leadership Network In districts all over the United States, race and class remain among the most reliable predictors of student success in school. Currently, in southern states, more than half of all the students enrolled in public school are from low-income families, with a growing number of families living in extreme poverty. The majority of public school students in the South are also children of color, rapidly changing the demographics of large and small districts. The increasing diversity and inequities students and families confront, creates an imperative for us to reimagine how we create a system that increases access and opportunity for all children to learn, develop, and thrive. We think the system we need now requires a bold and significant shift in educational leadership and practice. Leaders in every corner of our nation are being called to think, engage and act differently in the face of the complex challenges they navigate. Strengthening the will, skill and capacity of district leaders and their teams is an important lever for advancing authentic and enduring equity-centered system change. Funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, the Southern Education Foundation is answering this call by launching an innovative Racial Equity Leadership Network (RELN) to advance the capacity of district leaders committed to enduring equity-centered systems change as a solution to addressing racial, economic and academic disparities in districts across the South. Fellowship Overview and Theory of Change Delivered in partnership with the National Equity Project and Learning Policy Institute, RELN is an 18-month, cohort-style fellowship program for school district leaders who are committed to addressing persistent disparities in their systems and ensuring that race and class are no longer the most reliable predictors of student success. Each RELN cohort is comprised of up to twelve (12) executive leaders (i.e., Superintendents, Deputy Superintendents, Chief Academic Officers, etc.) from school systems across the South. Over the course of their fellowship experience, RELN fellows attend five (5) two-and-a-half-day network convening's focused on the essential levers for equity-centered leadership and system transformation. In between network convening's, the fellows also receive customized coaching and webinars to support the identification of a context-specific equity challenge. Finally, fellows receive grant support and other technical assistance to implement an action plan addressing their unique equity challenge during a six-month in-district work period. The RELN leadership development model follows a double helix approach incorporating two distinct, but intrinsically linked, strands of learning, engaging, and testing over the course of the 18-month fellowship. Fellows sharpen their individual racial equity lens and receive tools to enhance their capacity for influencing education policy and practice. Because this individual development is insufficient to create sustainable change within systems, fellows simultaneously identify specific policy or practice challenges to address within their districts, receive resources for engaging with others, and observe model districts making progress towards racial equity. Fellowship Outcomes As members of the Racial Equity Leadership Network, fellows (ideally) will: 1)Experience opportunities for renewal, inspiration, healing, and sustenance as an equity leader. 2)Sharpen a racial equity lens, gaining greater understanding and knowledge of the role that implicit bias, privilege, history, and structural racism play in perpetuating racial inequity in education. 3)Test, prototype, or pilot innovative solutions to address and make progress on a specific racial equity challenge in their respective context/school system, laying the foundation to improve the learning environments, experiences, and outcomes of Black, Brown, and low-income students in the fellow's respective district. 4)Gain a supportive equity-focused community of practice and, by extension, peer learning network that extends beyond the conclusion of the fellowship. Receive and make use of tools, resources, and coaching support to practice a racial equity leadership approach to the work they are doing in their system. This approach includes critical self-reflection, bias identification and confrontation, empathetic listening, and reimagined ways of identifying and tackling equity challenges by leveraging role authority to create desired changes in policy and practices. |
| PART VI, LINE 11A | THE 990 IS REVIEWED BY THE FULL BOARD, THE CEO AND THE CFO. AFTER ALL QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS ARE ADDRESSED THE 990 IS FILED AND A COPY IS PRESENTED TO EACH BOARD MEMBER. |
| PART VI, LINE 12C | Annually, each Trustee and SEF staff member execute a disclosure form identifying any relationships, positions or circumstances in which he/she is involved that could contribute to a real or perceived conflict of interest. Any information regarding business interest of a Trustee is treated as confidential and is generally made available to the Chair, the President, and any committee appointed to address conflicts of interest, except to the extent additional disclosure is necessary in connection with the implementation of this policy. Trustees do not vote on any matter in which they believe there is duality of interest and may, if asked, be called upon to share with fellow Trustees such information related to the duality of interest as may be necessary and appropriate. The minutes of Board meetings will show that the Trustee having a duality of interest disclosed same and abstained from voting on related matters. A copy of this policy is furnished to each person who is or becomes a member of the Board of Trustees or staff. Each such person is required to review a copy of this policy and acknowledge in writing that he or she has done so. |
| PART VI, LINE 15 | IN ORDER TO DETERMINE STAFF COMPENSATION LEVELS FOR ITS SMALL STAFF AND CONSERVATIVE MODEST RESOURCES, SEF CONSULTS SOURCES SUCH AS THE ANNUALLY COMPENSATION SURVEY PUBLISHED BY THE COUNCIL ON FOUNDATIONS, REPORTS IN THE CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPY, AND THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, RATHER THAN HIRING INDEPENDENT CONSULTANTS TO CONDUCT DETAILED COMPENSATION SURVEYS AND AUDITS. SEF BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF, AS APPROPRIATE, ALSO CONSULT WITH PEER ORGANIZATIONS TO ASCERTAIN APPROPRIATE COMPENSATION RANGES FOR STAFF. MANY SEF BOARD MEMBERS SERVE, AS WELL, ON OTHER NON -PROFIT ORGANIZATIONAL BOARDS AND BRING THAT KNOWLEDGE AND PERSPECTIVE TO BEAR IN SETTING COMPENSATION FOR SEF STAFF. SEF'S FINANCE, AUDIT AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE REVIEWS COMPENSATION AS PART OF THE ANNUAL BUDGET-SETTING CYCLE AND DETERMINES COMPENSATION OF THE PRESIDENT BASED UPON AN ANNUAL APPRAISAL OF PERFORMANCE. THAT APPRAISAL CONSIDERS ALL ASPECTS OF THE PRESIDENT'S WORK INCLUDING FUNDRAISING, MANAGEMENT, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION, GOVERNANCE AND COMMUNICATIONS. SEF'S PRESIDENT APPRAISES THE PERFORMANCE OF OTHER SUBORDINATE SEF STAFF ANNUALLY. ALL SEF STAFF ARE PART OF A MERIT PAY PROGRAM IN WHICH THERE ARE NO AUTOMATIC OR COST OF LIVING INCREASES. |
| PART VI, LINE 19 | All SEF public documents are available upon request. Once a request is received the documents can be sent either electronically or through the US postal system. The 2020 CPA audit, conflict of interest policy and whistleblower policy can also be found on the SEF web site in the "Public Documents Listing." |
| Part XI, Line 8 | (100,000) Bad Debt Expense for Prior Year Pledges |
| Software ID: | |
| Software Version: |