Accelerate Institute
Accelerate Institute is an organization focused on closing the achievement gap by creating high impact school leaders that accelerate student achievement.
Accelerate Institute at a glance
- Total assets
- $1,105,497
- +3.5% vs 2024
- Revenue (2025)
- $1,555,896
- -13.6% vs 2024
- Net investment income (2025)
- $24,425
- -24.2% vs 2024
- Expenses (2025)
- $1,640,272
- -0.1% vs 2024
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated October 2026.
Who Accelerate Institute funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Grant Size Distribution
1 grant across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 1 grant of 1 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Grant Distribution by State
States
Cities
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2021 to 2023, annual grant giving ranged from $3K (2021) to $10K (2022). In 2023 it reported $3K in grants paid, as a total without an itemized list.
Hatched bars: grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Alain Locke Charter School Chicago, IL | General Support for School Operations | $10,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1,105,497 | $1,555,896 | $1,640,272 | — | — | $24,425 |
| 2024 | $1,067,804 | $1,800,794 | $1,642,145 | — | — | $32,232 |
| 2023 | $978,286 | $2,250,299 | $2,543,744 | $2,500 | Total only | $37,807 |
| 2022 | $1,350,409 | $1,660,310 | $2,150,515 | $10,000 | 1 | $679 |
| 2021 | $1,797,948 | $2,168,134 | $1,841,268 | $2,500 | Total only | $3,089 |
| 2020 | $2,067,106 | $2,329,881 | $2,200,058 | — | — | $24,252 |
| 2019 | $2,436,829 | $2,335,181 | $2,383,217 | — | — | $33,140 |
"Total only": grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.
About Accelerate Institute
Based on IRS filings
Accelerate Institute is a public charity focused on Education, based in Chicago, IL. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $1.1M in total assets. Net investment income was $24K.
Focus Areas
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
Accelerate Institute is led by Catherine Burns, President & Chief Academic Officer since 2023 (on filings since 2019); 7 of 12 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Catherine Burns
President & Chief Academic Officer
Chief Academic Officer → President & Chief Academic Officer, 2023
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$173K (2019) → $234K (2025)
Patrick G Ryan Jr.
Chairman
On filings since 2019
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Erin Brooks
Senior Director of Curriculum & Assessment
Director of National Recruitment → V.p. of Partnerships, 2021
V.p. of Partnerships → Senior Director of Curriculum & Assessment, 2023
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$102K (2019) → $149K (2025)
Velia Soto
Senior Director of Curriculum & Assessment
Senior Director of Curriculum → Senior Director of Curriculum & Assessment, 2021
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$118K (2020) → $138K (2025)
Keelin Philippe
Senior Director of Professional Learning
Director of Professional Learning → Senior Director of Professional Learning, 2022
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$100K (2021) → $157K (2025)
Katherine Pillai
Director of Finance & Operations
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$106K (2023) → $125K (2025)
Erin Gilmore
Senior Director of Curriculum & Instruction
On filings since 2024
38 hrs/week
$125K (2024) → $131K (2025)
Lydia Ryan
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Robert J W Ryan
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Claire Hartfield
Vice President & Secretary
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
$42K (2019) → $49K (2025)
Dawn Moore
Assistant Treasurer
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Judy McGarvey
Treasurer
On filings since 2019
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (3)
- Former: Nora Ligurotis (2019–2024) — Former Chief Executive Officer
- Former: Erin Slack (2023) — Senior Director of Curriculum & Instruction
- Former: Angel Turner (2021) — Senior Director of Curriculum & Assessment
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $234K, to Catherine Burns (President and Chief Academic Officer). 7 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Accelerate Institute
How large is Accelerate Institute?
Accelerate Institute reported $1.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $1.6M.
What is Accelerate Institute?
Accelerate Institute is a public charity focused on Education, based in Chicago, IL. It holds $1.1M in total assets as of 2025.
Where does Accelerate Institute operate?
Accelerate Institute has awarded grants in Illinois.
What is Accelerate Institute's EIN?
Accelerate Institute's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-3764476. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.
Data update history
(3)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS February 22, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS January 16, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS February 23, 2023)
Live grants for the work Accelerate Institute funds
Education Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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Browse active grant opportunities in Accelerate Institute's focus areas in our free grants database
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Accelerate Institute down — hundreds of funders to go?