Nonprofit · EIN 27-4118171
TEN STRANDS
Tax-exempt · SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105
Financials
| Year ended | Form | Revenue | Expenses | Net income | Total assets | Liabilities | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 30, 2025 | 990 | $4,416,872 | $3,779,108 | $637,764 | $4,133,734 | $362,331 | $3,771,403 |
| June 30, 2024 | 990 | $3,989,901 | $3,968,167 | $21,734 | $5,199,922 | $2,004,876 | $3,195,046 |
Financial details: 990 for the year ended June 30, 2025
Revenue
- Contributions, gifts and grants
- $3,972,357
- of which government grants
- $2,513,912
- Program service revenue
- $281,958
- Investment income
- $162,557
- Other revenue
- $0
Expenses
- Grants and similar amounts paid
- $0
- Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
- $244,860
- Other salaries and wages
- $1,332,048
- Salaries, compensation and benefits (total)
- $1,863,274
- Professional fundraising fees
- $0
- Legal fees
- $4,293
- Accounting fees
- $38,115
- Travel
- $148,927
- Program services (functional)
- $3,129,098
- Management and general (functional)
- $311,965
- Fundraising (functional)
- $338,045
Balance sheet and other
- Total assets, start of year
- $5,199,922
- Total assets, end of year
- $4,133,734
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $362,331
- Net assets, end of year
- $3,771,403
- Publicly traded securities
- $2,998,909
- Net assets without donor restrictions
- $3,187,989
- Net assets with donor restrictions
- $583,414
- Gross receipts
- $4,416,872
- Employees
- 17
- Volunteers
- 12
- Year formed
- 2010
- 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 June 30, 2025, highest compensation first.
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation | Other / benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karen Cowe | CEO Officer | 50 | $217,412 | $31,493 |
| Jilliann Rodriguez M'Barki | Chief Adv. Officer | 50 | $180,092 | $23,306 |
| Roni Jones | Dir. of Curriculum | 50 | $172,038 | $26,246 |
| Andra Yeghoian | Chief Innov Officr | 50 | $175,301 | $19,530 |
| Sarah Whiting Watanabe | Dir CE & Data Sci | 50 | $119,423 | $15,307 |
| Joel Gingold | CFO Officer | 10 | $39,725 | $0 |
| William Parish | Chair Trustee or director, Officer | 40 | $0 | $0 |
| Robert Sheffield | Vice Chair Trustee or director, Officer | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Sheila Nahi | Secretary Trustee or director, Officer | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| James Mousalimas | Treasurer Trustee or director, Officer | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Thomas Adams | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Adrian Hightower | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Susanna Cooper | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Joe Boyd | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Rushi Gurjar | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
3 more people on this return
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Price | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| Bella Santos | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| Janet Wortman | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
990 for the year ended June 30, 2024: 17 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation | Other / benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KAREN COWE | CEO Officer | 50 | $225,044 | $29,283 |
| JILLIANN RODRIGUEZ M'BARKI | CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER Highest-paid employee | 50 | $173,712 | $21,724 |
| ANDRA YEGHOIAN | CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER Highest-paid employee | 50 | $173,846 | $19,657 |
| RONI JONES | DIRECTOR OF CURRICULUM Highest-paid employee | 50 | $163,846 | $24,314 |
| AMY FRAME | DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Highest-paid employee | 50 | $115,865 | $17,120 |
| JEFFREY DOWLING | INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNER Highest-paid employee | 50 | $112,644 | $14,905 |
| JOEL GINGOLD | CFO Officer | 10 | $33,485 | $0 |
| WILLIAM PARISH | FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD Trustee or director, Officer | 40 | $0 | $0 |
| ROBERT SHEFFIELD | TREASURER Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| THOMAS ADAMS | BOARD MEMBER Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| ADRIAN HIGHTOWER | BOARD MEMBER Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| SUSANNA COOPER | BOARD MEMBER Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| JOE BOYD | BOARD MEMBER Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| RUSHI GURJAR | BOARD MEMBER Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| JAMES MOUSALIMAS | BOARD MEMBER Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| GLEN PRICE | BOARD MEMBER Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| SHEILA NAHI | BOARD MEMBER Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
Address and contacts
- Address (IRS master file)
- 455 MARKET ST STE 1940 PMB 334614, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105-2448
- Mailing address (990-N for 2010)
- 1335 16th Ave, Suite 1, San Francisco CA 94122
- Principal officer (990 for 2024)
- Karen Cowe, 455 Market St Ste 1940 PMB 334614, San Francisco, CA 941052448
- Principal officer (990-N for 2010)
- P William Parish, 1335 16th Ave, Suite 1, San Francisco CA 94122
- Signed the 990
- Karen Cowe, CEO
- Phone
- (510) 592-7370
- Website
- www.tenstrands.org
- Return prepared by
- Crosby & Kaneda CPAs LLP
California records
California keeps its own records of charities and corporations. Search them by EIN 27-4118171 or by the name TEN STRANDS.
- Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers
- Registration status and filed reports (CT-TR-1, RRF-1)
- Secretary of State, bizfile Online
- Corporation status, entity number, agent for service
- Franchise Tax Board
- Entity status letter (state tax exemption, good standing)
Mission
We strengthen the partnerships, strategies, and systems that advance environmental literacy, ensuring all California TK12 students thrive in sustainable, resilient schools and engage in meaningful environmental learning experiences, both in and beyond the classroom.
Program accomplishments
- Climate Change and Environmental Justice Program (CCEJP), now known as Seeds to Solutions: Ten Strands served as the lead consultant for the Climate Change and Environmental Justice Program (CCEJP), now known as Seeds to Solutions, a statewide initiative to develop standards-based K12 instructional resources focused on climate change and environmental justice. The program is led by the San Mateo County Office of Education in partnership with the California Department of Education. Between FY23 and FY25, Ten Strands coordinated community-based writing teams and subject matter experts to complete development of the curriculum. With the publication of the materials, Ten Strands is now supporting the statewide rollout of Seeds to Solutions to ensure the resources reach educators and students across California. Found at: https://seedstosolutions.org/Expenses $1,526,264
- Youth engagement: Ten Strands advanced youth engagement through the California Youth Climate Policy Leadership Program (CYCP) and a student internship program. During FY25, more than forty high school students from nine regions across California participated in CYCP, receiving training and mentorship to design and lead local civic engagement and leadership projects related to climate literacy and school sustainability. Ten Strands also provided internship opportunities for high school and college students to gain hands-on experience supporting research, communications, and policy education work, strengthening a statewide youth leadership pipeline. Partners in this work include Sierra Club California and UndauntedK12. Found at: https://tenstrands.org/work/youth-engagement/Technical assistance services: Ten Strands provided targeted technical assistance to school districts and county offices of education to support planning and implementation of whole-school sustainability strategies, including environmental and climate literacy, youth leadership, and sustainable practices. These services helped education leaders overcome implementation barriers, scale promising practices, and build long-term capacity. Found at: https://tenstrands.org/work/technical-assistance-services/Public engagement and communications: Ten Strands conducted statewide communications and outreach to advance public understanding of environmental and climate literacy, including publication of a twice-monthly newsletter, feature articles, annual reporting, website management, and engagement through social media and partner events. Newsletters at: https://tenstrands.org/category/newsletters/Expenses $745,313 · revenue $281,958
- Outdoor learning initiatives: Ten Strands advanced three interconnected initiatives related to outdoor learning, with a primary focus on the California Campaign for Outdoor Learning. Through this campaign, Ten Strands convened leaders across education, health, research, and community organizations to establish a shared vision that every child in California should have regular opportunities to learn outdoors. Activities included cross-sector convenings, research and evaluation coordination, and development of exemplars to support integration of outdoor learning into everyday schooling. Ten Strands, in partnership with Green Schoolyards America, is a founding partner of and continues to support the California Schoolyard Forest System, which seeks to ensure that all public school grounds achieve at least 30 percent tree canopy cover to protect students from extreme heat and the impacts of climate change. In addition, Ten Strands is a member of the statewide California School Garden Coalition and supports advocacy efforts to ensure that every school has a garden, further supporting equitable access to outdoor learning and environmental literacy. Found at: https://tenstrands.org/work/outdoor-learning-initiatives/Sustainable and climate-ready schools: Ten Strands advanced work to support sustainable and climate-ready schools through coalition leadership, professional learning, and systems support. In partnership with UndauntedK12 and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, Ten Strands launched a professional learning series for district and county leaders focused on climate adaptation strategies, including extreme heat mitigation, energy resilience, stormwater management, and emergency planning. This work culminated in the release of a resilience and adaptation toolkit and a recommendations brief to support climate-ready planning statewide. Ten Strands also contributed to coalition efforts supporting implementation of Californias Proposition 2 school facilities bond by informing guidance that integrates climate readiness, energy efficiency, and student health into school facility upgrades. Found at: https://www.climatereadyschoolscoalition.org/Data initiative for environmental and climate action in Californias TK12 schools: Ten Strands advanced a statewide, data-driven initiative to support county and district leaders in assessing and strengthening whole-school sustainability across curriculum, campus, community, and culture. During FY25, the initiative released a first-of-its-kind baseline assessment drawing on data from approximately 1,000 school districts and all 58 county offices of education, establishing a historic statewide picture of environmental literacy and climate action in California schools. Contributing partners include the California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI), UndauntedK12, UC Berkeleys Master of Computational Social Science program, UC Berkeley Computing, Data Science, and Society, and the University of Washington eScience Institute. Found at: https://tenstrands.org/work/data-initiative/Expenses $472,584
- California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI): For the tenth year, Ten Strands led and managed the California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI), a statewide collective action network focused on advancing environmental literacy across Californias education system. During the fiscal year, Ten Strands supported network coordination, leadership development, and cross-sector collaboration among educators, administrators, and community partners to continue to implement recommendations from Californias 2015 Blueprint for Environmental Literacy. These efforts strengthened systems of support enabling students to engage in local, standards- and environment-based learning experiences statewide. CAELIs website can be found at: https://ca-eli.org/Expenses $384,937
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 June, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.
| Tax year | Year ended | Due | IRS public records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | June 30, 2026 | November 16, 2026 | Not due yet |
| 2024 | June 30, 2025 | November 17, 2025 | 990 on file |
| 2023 | June 30, 2024 | November 15, 2024 | 990 on file |
IRS record
- EIN
- 27-4118171
- 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
- 2011
- Accounting year ends
- June
- Files
- Form 990 or 990-EZ
- Category (NTEE)
- Environment (C60)
- Assets (IRS master file)
- $4,133,734
- Income (IRS master file)
- $4,416,872
Filing history
| Form | Year ended | Revenue | Expenses | Assets | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 990 | June 2025 | $4,416,872 | $3,779,108 | $4,133,734 | XML |
| 990 | June 2024 | $3,989,901 | $3,968,167 | $5,199,922 | XML |
| 990 | June 2023 | $4,078,691 | $4,158,228 | $6,638,366 | IRS |
| 990 | June 2022 | $2,562,146 | $1,720,057 | $6,236,978 | IRS |
| 990 | June 2021 | $652,540 | $1,126,386 | $2,634,432 | IRS |
| 990 | December 2020 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990 | December 2018 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990 | December 2017 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990-N for 2010 Officer: P William Parish | December 31, 2010 | ≤ $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 27-4118171).
Questions about TEN STRANDS
- What is the EIN of TEN STRANDS?
- The employer identification number (EIN) of TEN STRANDS is 27-4118171.
- Is TEN STRANDS tax-exempt?
- Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 2011.
- Are donations to TEN STRANDS tax-deductible?
- Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).
- Which annual return does TEN STRANDS 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 TEN STRANDS due?
- The return for tax year 2025 (the year ending June 30, 2026) is due November 16, 2026. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.
- When did TEN STRANDS last file with the IRS?
- The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended June 2025.
- Who is the principal officer of TEN STRANDS?
- The 990 for the year ended June 30, 2025 names Karen Cowe.
- Who are the officers and directors of TEN STRANDS?
- The 990 for the year ended June 30, 2025 lists 18 people; 6 received compensation from the organization, the highest $217,412 (Karen Cowe, CEO).
- How much revenue does TEN STRANDS have?
- On its 990 for the year ended June 30, 2025 it reported revenue of $4,416,872, expenses of $3,779,108 and total assets of $4,133,734 at year end.
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