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Higher Ground Academy

Organization summary

Type of Nonprofit

Designated as a Organizations for any of the following purposes: religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition (as long as it doesn't provide athletic facilities or equipment), or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.

Category: Educational Institutions and Related Activities / Secondary, High School (NTEE)

Donations to this organization are tax deductible.

Details

According to its June 2023 tax filing, this nonprofit:

Operated a school
Organization is a school. Details are reported on Schedule E.

Summary charts: organization finances over time

Revenue
$19.2M (2023)

Expenses
$17.1M (2023)

Total Assets
$18.5M (2023)

Total Liabilities
$11.3M (2023)

Source: Form 990 tax filings from 2011 to 2023

Tax Filings and Audits by Year

Form 990 is an information return that most organizations claiming federal tax-exempt status must file yearly with the IRS. Nonprofit Explorer has IRS digitized Form 990 data for filings processed in 2012 and later. If this organization filed an amended return, it may not be reflected below. Duplicate download links may indicate a resubmission or amendment to this organization's original return. Form 990 data is from the IRS.

Audits are required to be submitted by nonprofit organizations that spend $750,000 or more in federal grant money in a fiscal year. "Single audits" look at the entire organization's finances and compliance, while other audits are program specific. Nonprofit Explorer has PDFs of audits for some nonprofits for fiscal year 2015 and later. Audit data is from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.

Fiscal Year Ending June
2023

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$19,189,915
Expenses
$17,123,856
Net Income
$2,066,059
Net Assets
$7,176,077
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $19,082,814
99.4%
Program Services $38,046
0.2%
Investment Income $69,055
0.4%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $188,763
1.1%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $7,419,786
43.3%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $18,470,121
Total Liabilities $11,294,044
Net Assets $7,176,077
Other
Operated a school
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Samuel Yigzaw (Executive Director) $211,861 $0 $26,155
Neliya Tkachenko (Board Member) $69,775 $0 $2,371
Daniel Mcgrath (Chair) $0 $0 $0
Denise Toussaint (Vice Chair/Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Brian Swerine (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Abdirashid Muse (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Shannon Tanghe (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Mary Tate (Board Member) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2022

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$19,599,738
Expenses
$16,627,339
Net Income
$2,972,399
Net Assets
$5,110,018
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,467,093
7.5%
Program Services $18,131,719
92.5%
Investment Income $926
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $252,080
1.5%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $7,499,320
45.1%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $16,745,157
Total Liabilities $11,635,139
Net Assets $5,110,018
Other
Operated a school
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Samuel Yigzaw (Executive Director) $197,334 $0 $24,926
Neliya Tkachenko (Member/Teacher) $60,473 $0 $8,098
Shannon Tanghe (Member) $0 $0 $0
Brian Swerine (Member) $0 $0 $0
Denise Toussaint (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Mary Tate (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Abdirashid Muse (Vice Chair) $0 $0 $0
Daniel Mc Grath (Chair) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2021

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$16,161,479
Expenses
$14,884,281
Net Income
$1,277,198
Net Assets
$2,158,779
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,496,826
9.3%
Program Services $14,662,089
90.7%
Investment Income $2,564
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $262,440
1.8%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $6,724,466
45.2%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $14,123,889
Total Liabilities $11,965,110
Net Assets $2,158,779
Other
Operated a school
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Samuel Yigzaw (Executive Director) $201,129 $0 $24,926
Neliya Tkachenko (Director/Teacher) $64,146 $0 $0
Shannon Tanghe (Director) $0 $0 $0
Brian Swerine (Director) $0 $0 $0
Abdille Mohamed (Vice Chair) $0 $0 $0
Mary Tate (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Denise Toussaint (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Daniel Mc Grath (Chair) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2020

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$14,107,981
Expenses
$14,177,659
Net Income
-$69,678
Net Assets
$881,581
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,446,834
10.3%
Program Services $12,649,429
89.7%
Investment Income $11,718
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $257,376
1.8%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $6,098,366
43.0%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $10,726,673
Total Liabilities $9,845,092
Net Assets $881,581
Other
Operated a school
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Samuel Yigzaw (Executive Director) $224,493 $0 $0
Neliya Tkachenko (Director/Teacher) $63,224 $0 $0
Shannon Tanghe (Director) $0 $0 $0
Brian Swerine (Director) $0 $0 $0
Abdille Mohamed (Vice Chair) $0 $0 $0
Mary Tate (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Denise Toussaint (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Daniel Mc Grath (Chair) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2019

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$11,090,410
Expenses
$9,419,055
Net Income
$1,671,355
Net Assets
$900,609
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,061,080
9.6%
Program Services $10,029,330
90.4%
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $233,714
2.5%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $4,832,347
51.3%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $11,530,136
Total Liabilities $10,629,527
Net Assets $900,609
Other
Operated a school
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Samuel Yigzaw (Executive Director) $178,352 $0 $7,058
Neliya Tkachenko (Director/Teacher) $53,025 $0 $7,058
Daniel Mc Grath (Chair) $0 $0 $0
Denise Toussaint (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Mary Tate (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Mohamed Abdille (Director) $0 $0 $0
Brian Swerine (Director) $0 $0 $0
Shannon Tanghe (Director) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2018

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$10,838,933
Expenses
$11,853,830
Net Income
-$1,014,897
Net Assets
-$770,746
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,081,694
10.0%
Program Services $9,757,239
90.0%
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $404,364
3.4%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $4,313,171
36.4%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $12,093,003
Total Liabilities $12,863,749
Net Assets -$770,746
Other
Operated a school
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Samuel Yigzaw (Interim Executive Director) $179,359 $0 $6,231
William Wilson (Executive Director) $159,126 $0 $5,064
Neliya Tkachenko (Director/Teacher) $50,851 $0 $6,231
Daniel Mc Grath (Chair) $0 $0 $0
Denise Toussaint (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Mary Tate (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Mohamed Abdille (Director) $0 $0 $0
Brian Swerine (Director) $0 $0 $0
Shannon Tanghe (Director) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2017

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$10,694,216
Expenses
$11,668,492
Net Income
-$974,276
Net Assets
$244,151
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,141,786
10.7%
Program Services $9,552,430
89.3%
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $444,186
3.8%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $3,981,315
34.1%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $13,281,067
Total Liabilities $13,036,916
Net Assets $244,151
Other
Operated a school
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Samuel Yigzaw (School Director) $180,250 $0 $24,987
William Wilson (Executive Director) $178,526 $0 $5,589
Neliya Tkachenko (Director/Teacher) $49,130 $0 $5,704
Daniel Mc Grath (Chair) $0 $0 $0
Denise Toussaint (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Mary Tate (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Mohamed Abdille (Director) $0 $0 $0
Brian Swerine (Director) $0 $0 $0
Dehabo Kullane (Director) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2016

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$10,227,782
Expenses
$10,013,017
Net Income
$214,765
Net Assets
$1,218,427
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,147,974
11.2%
Program Services $9,079,808
88.8%
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $402,820
4.0%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $3,887,323
38.8%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $6,610,904
Total Liabilities $5,392,477
Net Assets $1,218,427
Other
Operated a school
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Samuel Yigzaw (School Director) $171,818 $0 $24,295
William Wilson (Executive Director) $171,414 $0 $4,768
Neliya Tkachenko (Director/Teacher) $49,084 $0 $5,401
Daniel Mc Grath (Chair) $0 $0 $0
Denise Toussaint (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Robert Lyons (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Mohamed Abdille (Director) $0 $0 $0
Dehabo Kullane (Director) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2015

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$9,710,215
Expenses
$9,301,179
Net Income
$409,036
Net Assets
$1,003,662
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,119,364
11.5%
Program Services $8,590,851
88.5%
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $438,711
4.7%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $3,734,214
40.1%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $6,233,171
Total Liabilities $5,229,509
Net Assets $1,003,662
Other
Operated a school
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
William Wilson (Executive Director) $164,588 $0 $5,118
Samuel Yigzaw (Director/School Director) $162,346 $0 $21,453
Dr Ismail Samatar (Director) $78,339 $0 $15,212
Daniel Mc Grath (Chair) $0 $0 $0
Denise Toussaint (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Robert Lyons (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Mohamed Abdille (Director) $0 $0 $0
Mohamed Khalif (Director) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2014

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$9,177,649
Expenses
$8,751,172
Net Income
$426,477
Net Assets
$4,639,594
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,038,338
11.3%
Program Services $8,139,311
88.7%
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $449,730
5.1%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $3,411,241
39.0%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $5,342,252
Total Liabilities $702,658
Net Assets $4,639,594
Other
Operated a school
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
William Wilson (Executive Director) $163,457 $0 $6,482
Samuel Yigzaw (Director/School Director) $156,960 $0 $19,069
Adulcadir Mohamud (Board Member (Resigned 2014)) $85,198 $0 $15,244
Dr Ismail Samatar (Director) $77,485 $0 $22,210
Daniel Mc Grath (Chair) $0 $0 $0
Obi Egwin (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Robert Lyons (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Ahmed Yusuf (Board Member (Resigned 2014)) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2013

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$9,349,518
Expenses
$8,740,062
Net Income
$609,456
Net Assets
$4,213,117
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,053,550
11.3%
Program Services $8,295,968
88.7%
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $565,532
6.5%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $3,340,182
38.2%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,820,230
Total Liabilities $607,113
Net Assets $4,213,117

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2012

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$8,826,466
Expenses
$8,729,366
Net Income
$97,100
Net Assets
$3,603,661
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,089,973
12.3%
Program Services $7,735,341
87.6%
Investment Income $1,152
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $485,403
5.6%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $3,354,023
38.4%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,269,853
Total Liabilities $666,192
Net Assets $3,603,661

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2011

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$8,626,578
Expenses
$8,150,038
Net Income
$476,540
Net Assets
$3,506,561
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,049,097
12.2%
Program Services $7,576,038
87.8%
Investment Income $1,443
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $528,030
6.5%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $3,045,000
37.4%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,210,914
Total Liabilities $704,353
Net Assets $3,506,561

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2010

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2009

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2008

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2007

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2006

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2005

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2004

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2003

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2001

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

About This Data

Nonprofit Explorer includes summary data for nonprofit tax returns and full Form 990 documents, in both PDF and digital formats.

The summary data contains information processed by the IRS during the 2012-2019 calendar years; this generally consists of filings for the 2011-2018 fiscal years, but may include older records. This data release includes only a subset of what can be found in the full Form 990s.

In addition to the raw summary data, we link to PDFs and digital copies of full Form 990 documents wherever possible. This consists of separate releases by the IRS of Form 990 documents processed by the agency, which we update regularly.

We also link to copies of audits nonprofit organizations that spent $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a single fiscal year since 2016. These audits are copied from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.

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Every organization that has been recognized as tax exempt by the IRS has to file Form 990 every year, unless they make less than $200,000 in revenue and have less than $500,000 in assets, in which case they have to file form 990-EZ. Organizations making less than $50,000 don’t have to file either form but do have to let the IRS they’re still in business via a Form 990N "e-Postcard."

Nonprofit Explorer has organizations claiming tax exemption in each of the 27 subsections of the 501(c) section of the tax code, and which have filed a Form 990, Form 990EZ or Form 990PF. Taxable trusts and private foundations that are required to file a form 990PF are also included. Small organizations filing a Form 990N "e-Postcard" are not included in this data.

Types of Nonprofits

There are 27 nonprofit designations based on the numbered subsections of section 501(c) of the tax code. See the list »

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For those interested in acquiring the original data from the source, here’s where our data comes from:

  • Raw filing data. Includes EINs and summary financials as structured data.
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  • Form 990 documents. Prior to 2017, these documents were obtained and processed by Public.Resource.org and ProPublica. Bulk PDF downloads since 2017 are available from the IRS.
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  • Audits. PDFs of single or program-specific audits for nonprofit organizations that spent $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a single fiscal year. Available for fiscal year 2015 and later.

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