Wake County Smart Start Inc
Raleigh, NC · EIN 56-1949415. Reported 170 grants totalling $74.4M to 68 organizations across tax years 2021-2024, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Wake County Smart Start Inc, the IRS classifies it under education rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE B210) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 68 distinct organizations, with 15% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 76% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is well above the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and above the 67% private foundations manage. This list is close to settled, so a newcomer has to displace someone rather than fill a gap.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $267,042. Half of what it reported fell between $101,651 and $571,968; the smallest was $5,000 and the largest $3,082,694. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
79 of those grants were non-cash -- goods, property or services worth $1,009,094 in total. In-kind giving is real support but it is not a cheque.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Childcare Network Inc | Columbus, GA | $10.9M | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Wake County Public Schools | Raleigh, NC | $10.0M | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Bright Beginnings of Cary Inc | Cary, NC | $4,296,330 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Creative Schools Inc | Raleigh, NC | $4,164,668 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Primary Beginnings Child Development | Raleigh, NC | $3,315,838 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Abc Land Inc II | Wendell, NC | $3,130,762 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Academically Based Child | Raleigh, NC | $2,936,465 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Telamon Corporation | Raleigh, NC | $2,719,707 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Happy Face Preschool | Raleigh, NC | $2,584,855 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Wake County Human Services | Raleigh, NC | $2,550,863 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood | Cary, NC | $2,170,818 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Kids First Academy Inc | Raleigh, NC | $2,111,187 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Early Preschool & Learning Center LLC | Raleigh, NC | $1,960,355 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Wanda's Little Hands Educational Center | Raleigh, NC | $1,850,641 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Kindercare Learning Center | Portland, OR | $1,760,775 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| A Safe Place Child Enrichment Center Inc | Raleigh, NC | $1,670,438 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Family Resource Center South Atlantic | Raleigh, NC | $1,517,869 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Little Destiny Literacy & Discovery Child Development Center | Raleigh, NC | $1,203,328 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Creative Learning Enterprise | Apex, NC | $1,158,901 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Method Child Development Center Inc | Raleigh, NC | $1,155,660 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Little Hands 'n' Feet Child Care Center Inc | Raleigh, NC | $1,133,074 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Preston Children's Academy | Cary, NC | $1,105,194 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Shaw University | Raleigh, NC | $908,841 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Frankie Lemmon School and Developmental Center Inc | Raleigh, NC | $837,580 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Little Believers Academy II | Garner, NC | $744,003 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| La Petite Academy Inc | Novi, MI | $692,382 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Raleigh Inc | Raleigh, NC | $661,385 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Buttons & Bows | Rolesville, NC | $574,036 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Various Child Care Centers and Service Providers | $516,728 | 4 | 4 | 2024 | |
| Triangle Area Parenting Support | Cary, NC | $437,600 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Safechild | Raleigh, NC | $422,535 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Early Years Inc | Chapel Hill, NC | $422,508 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Bambino's Playschool | Cary, NC | $377,991 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Tlc Operations Inc | Raleigh, NC | $327,478 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Triangle Academy Preschool | Cary, NC | $285,090 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Methodist Home for Children Inc | Raleigh, NC | $264,673 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Book Harvest | Durham, NC | $242,637 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Passage Home Inc | Raleigh, NC | $201,252 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Daniel Center for Math and Science | Raleigh, NC | $178,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Iglesia Fiesta Cristiana | Apex, NC | $173,525 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Step Up Ministry | Raleigh, NC | $148,900 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Baciliokiddie Academy of Holly Springs | Holly Springs, NC | $135,767 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Fiesta Cristiana | Apex, NC | $106,529 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Reach Out and Read Inc | Boston, MA | $58,270 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Dhic Inc | Raleigh, NC | $32,270 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Happy Place to Bee | Garner, NC | $23,324 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Goddard (aan Enterprises) Holly Springs | Holly Springs, NC | $20,592 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Little Angels Preparatory | Fuquayvarina, NC | $20,140 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Big Blue Marble Academy LLC | Holly Springs, NC | $15,360 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Oak Village Academy | Cary, NC | $15,144 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Creative Kidz Academy | Raleigh, NC | $13,276 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Steps and Stages Child Care | Wendell, NC | $11,058 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Martin Pitt Partnership for Children Inc | Greenville, NC | $10,560 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mecklenburg Partnership for Children | Charlotte, NC | $10,560 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Randolph County Partnership for Children Inc | Asheboro, NC | $10,560 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Rex Hospital Inc | Raleigh, NC | $10,045 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ashebridge Children's Academy | Fuquayvarina, NC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Business and Education Leaders for Smart Start and Jobs | Raleigh, NC | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Little Makers Academy | Raleigh, NC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| North Carolina Community of Coalitions | Zebulon, NC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Little Sprouts Academy | Zebulon, NC | $9,998 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Touched By An Angel | Raleigh, NC | $9,824 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ready Or Not Here I Grow | Fuquayvarina, NC | $8,599 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Kiddie Care Academy | Wake Forest, NC | $7,038 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kreepers N Krawlers | Raleigh, NC | $6,440 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Discovery Point Heritage Cdc | Wake Forest, NC | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Kiddie Academy of Brier Creek | Raleigh, NC | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Rising Stars Jrversity | Raleigh, NC | $5,218 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
40 of 68 (59%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Childcare Network Inc
NC PREK, WAKE THREESCHOOL - Wake County Public Schools
NC PREK/FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE CONTRACT - Bright Beginnings of Cary Inc
NC PREK, WAKE THREESCHOOL, QUALITY ENHANCEMENT - Wake County Human Services
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE CONTRACT - Kindercare Learning Center
NC PREK, QUALITY ENHANCEMENT - Bambino's Playschool
WAKE THREESCHOOL, QUALITY ENHANCEMENT
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 19 of 68 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | $15.5M | $202,957 |
| 2022 | 44 | $17.6M | $199,630 |
| 2023 | 38 | $19.6M | $278,105 |
| 2024 | 43 | $21.8M | $285,090 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
82% of its giving went to organizations in North Carolina. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available that two funders have overlapping priorities -- and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $267,042 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in North Carolina.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Wake County Smart Start Inc's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 17 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 25 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 4901 Waters Edge Drive 101, Raleigh, NC, 27606.
EIN 56-1949415 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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