Success Academy Charter Schools (SA)

Success Academy Charter Schools (SA) is a charter school network in New York City, which operates 47 free public charter schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. 1 SA aims to provide students with high quality education, allowing them to exceed New York State testing standards and ultimately be successful in college and a competitive global economy. 2

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Website: www.successacademies.org
Formation:

2007

CEO:

Eva Moskowitz

CEO’s Salary:

$160,978 3

Location: New York, NY View on map
Tax ID: 20-5298861
Most Recent Filing: 2023
Budget (2023): Assets: $362,618,379 Revenue: $143,889,167 Expenses: $123,024,079

Contents

    Activities

    Success Academy supports public policy that expands school choice, especially seeking to raise the cap on charter schools in New York. Success claims that the current cap is preventing students from having access to quality educational opportunities. As part of its advocacy efforts, Success Academy facilitated virtual meetings between nearly 300 parents and 45 New York State elected officials in support of raising the charter school cap. 4

    Success Academy encourages its students to participate in advocacy and supported a group of twenty of its middle school students who spoke to members of the Panel for Education Policy at a 2022 joint public hearing. The students spoke ahead of an April 2022 vote, in support of a space for Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts–Brooklyn, so that they could continue their education at a Success Academy school. 5

    In February 2022, Success Academy published results from the 2019 New York State exams showing that Success schools were outperforming other New York City charter and public middle schools in both math and English language arts mastery. The network claims that much of its middle school students’ success comes from Success Academy’s diverse offering of electives, clubs, and teams; its social-emotional support; and its culture and learning environment. 6

    Funding

    Success Academy Charter Schools receives funding from donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While Success Academy Charter Schools does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the Kovner Foundation ($2.9 million in 2018), 7 the Robin Hood Foundation ($2.15 million in 2019), 8 and the Broad Foundation ($1.13 million in 2017). 9

    People

    Founder

    Eva Moskowitz is the founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools and the former chair of the New York City Council’s Education Committee. 10 Moskowitz is also the CEO of Success Foundation Inc, from which she received compensation of $755,000 in 2019. 11

    Board of Directors

    Steve Galbraith is the chair of the board of Success Academy and was formerly appointed to be an advisor to the Office of Financial Research by the Department of the Treasury. 10

    Suzie Kovner is the vice chair of the board of Success Academy and the founder and vice president of the Kovner Foundation. 10

    Mary Berner is the lead director of the board of Success Academy and sits on the boards of the National Association of Broadcasters, the Fuller Project, and Common Sense Growth, a for profit subsidiary of Common Sense Media. 10

    Diahann Billings-Burford formerly worked as the vice president of the Time Warner Foundation and as New York’s chief service officer for former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Billings-Burford sits on the boards of buildOn, Philanthropy New York, and the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation. 10

    Sir John Hood is the president and CEO of the Robertson Foundation. 10

    C. Melvin Ike sits on the board of the Marshall Project. 10

    John Petry is a co-founder of Democrats for Education Reform and the past chair of Education Reform Now. 10

    Other members of the board include Rich Pzena, treasurer, Kent Yalowitz, secretary, Rich Barrera, Joel Greenblatt, S. Fitzgerald Haney, Kevin Liles, Yen Liow, Daniel Loeb, Robert Niehaus, Angele Robinson-Gaylord, and Simon Shaw. 10

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2023 $362,618,379 $143,889,167 $123,024,079 View
    2022 $274,485,406 $188,955,703 $92,840,929 View
    2021 $162,966,057 $99,368,525 $77,155,177 View
    2020 $139,942,239 $88,191,643 $73,460,880 View
    2019 $148,717,499 $79,336,020 $87,947,087 View

    Prior year filings: 2018, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    • Number of Employees: 589

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Eva MoskowitzCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER$1,018,977
    David EllnerCHIEF, ENTERPRISE SVCS MGMT$626,707
    Ingrid Lamae De JonghCHIEF, SCHOOLING PLAN & MGMT$572,908
    Shabbir AhmedCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER$455,943
    Jason NiederkornCHIEF, ADVISORY MANAGEMENT$453,346
    Ann PowellExecutive, Public Affairs$449,689
    Miles BraffettEXECUTIVE, TECHNOLOGY$409,791
    Paula HuncharEXECUTIVE, ADVANCEMENT MGMT$400,440
    Lei SunChief, EI Team Management$333,468
    Amanda Cabreira Da SilvaEXECUTIVE, ENTERPRISE SERVICES$309,911
    Brittany GiovinazziEXECUTIVE, EDGE$306,143
    WENDY Foster THRU 1222Chief, Schooling$181,908

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $400,146,345
    • Number of Grants: 836
    • Number of Funders: 229

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $19,900,0002024 The Bloomberg Family Foundation IncTO IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR K-12 STUDENTS IN THE U.S.
    $19,900,0002023 The Bloomberg Family Foundation IncCAPITAL SUPPORT
    $19,900,0002022 The Bloomberg Family Foundation IncTO IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR K-12 STUDENTS IN THE U.S.
    $10,000,0002023 Robertson FoundationSYSTEMATIC AND MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENT IN SCHOOL QUALITY DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
    $8,606,6152024 Charter FundCHARTER SCHOOL GROWTH
    $6,116,6082022 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes
    $6,000,0002022 Robertson FoundationSYSTEMATIC AND MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENT IN SCHOOL QUALITY DESIGN
    $5,823,6252023 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes
    $5,210,0002022 The Norman R Rales and Ruth Rales FoundationEDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
    $5,140,0002021 The Norman R Rales and Ruth Rales FoundationEDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
    $5,000,0002020 Robertson FoundationSUPPORT FOR PHASE II OF SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS' EDUCATION INSTITUTE.
    $4,830,0002024 The Norman R Rales and Ruth Rales FoundationEDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
    $4,750,0002020 The Margaret and Daniel Loeb FoundationCHARITABLE
    $4,470,0002023 The Norman R Rales and Ruth Rales FoundationEDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
    $4,311,5002024 Vanguard CharitableFOR RECIPIENT'S EXEMPT PURPOSE
    $4,254,2522021 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes
    $4,250,0002020 Robertson FoundationGENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT.
    $4,000,0002022 Robertson FoundationPHASE II OF SUCCESS ACADEMY'S EDUCATION INSTITUTE
    $3,500,0002025 The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation IncK-12 CURRICULUM REDESIGN AND SCALING
    $3,500,0002024 The Kovner FoundationEDUCATION
    $3,097,1502023 The Kovner FoundationEDUCATION
    $2,820,4092020 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes
    $2,766,0002023 Vanguard CharitableFOR RECIPIENT'S EXEMPT PURPOSE
    $2,125,0002020 The Kovner FoundationEDUCATION
    $2,050,1002022 Donors Trust Incfor general operations

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $10,012,963
    • Number of Grants: 5
    • Number of Recipients: 1

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $3,827,9602023 Success Academy Charter Schools – NYCEXPANSION/
    $1,795,3742021 Success Academy Charter Schools – NYCEXPANSION/
    $1,624,9182020 Success Academy Charter Schools – NYCEXPANSION/
    $592,0282022 Success Academy Charter Schools – NYCEXPANSION/

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. [1] “Locations.” Success Academy Charter Schools, 2022. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/locations/.
    2.   Success Academy Charter Schools Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Part III, Line 1.
    3. Success Academy Charter Schools Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.
    4. “SA Staff Partner With Parents on Advocacy.” Success Academy Charter Schools, February 14, 2022. Accessed June 6, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/education-blog/sa-staff-partner-with-parents-on-advocacy/.
    5. “Middle Schoolers Advocate for New High School.” Success Academy Charter Schools, April 22, 2022. Accessed June 6, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/education-blog/middle-schoolers-advocate-for-new-high-school/.
    6. “Sorting Out Your Choices: How Do Success Academy Middle Schools Compare?” Success Academy Charter Schools, February 11, 2022. Accessed June 6, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/education-blog/sorting-out-your-choices-how-do-success-academy-middle-schools-compare/.
    7.  The Kovner Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2018, Part XV, Line 3a.
    8. Robin Hood Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Schedule I, Part II.
    9.  The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV, Line 3a.
    10. “Leadership.” Success Academy Charter Schools, 2022. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/leadership/.
    11.  [1] Success Foundation Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.