Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children
Helping Caldwell county children arrive at school healthy and prepared for success.
Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children at a glance
In short: Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children gave $220K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $22K), mostly in North Carolina. 0% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $220,454
- -31.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 10
- -9.1% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $22,045
- -24.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $12,174
- Total assets
- $557,082
- +253.4% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 0% first-time grantees (0 of 10, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- North Carolina (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
Who Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Caldwell County Schools ($90K). Together the top 10 received $220K.
Grant Size Distribution
60 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 52 grants of 60 (87%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children open to new grantees?
0%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 0 of 10 grantees (0%) were first-time recipients. With only 10 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 10 points. How we count
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $220K (2025) to $353K (2020). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $220K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Caldwell County Schools Lenoir, NC | Behavior Support Specialist | $90,000 |
| Northlakes Academy Inc Hickory, NC | Child Care Quality Enhancement | $30,000 |
| Creative Beginnings LLC Lenoir, NC | Child Care Quality Enhancement | $26,271 |
| Bright Beginnings Child Care Center Granite Falls, NC | Child Care Quality Enhancement | $20,381 |
| Countryside Child Care Inc Granite Falls, NC | Child Care Quality Enhancement | $14,551 |
| Caldwell County Health Department Lenoir, NC | Family Support - Nurturing Parent, Growing-up Safe | $9,797 |
| Grogans Small World #1 Granite Falls, NC | Child Care Quality Enhancement | $8,751 |
| Grogans Small World #2 Hudson, NC | Child Care Quality Enhancement | $7,991 |
| Forever Young Child Development Center Lenoir, NC | Child Care Quality Enhancement | $6,941 |
| Happy Hearts LLC Lenoir, NC | Child Care Quality Enhancement | $5,771 |
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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 | $557,082 | $1,447,421 | $1,025,726 | $220,454 | 10 | — |
| 2024 | $157,642 | $973,100 | $957,680 | $320,151 | 11 | — |
| 2023 | $140,766 | $1,017,940 | $1,057,568 | $327,397 | 12 | — |
| 2022 | $196,225 | $894,983 | $889,609 | $333,367 | 12 | — |
| 2021 | $94,243 | $895,226 | $878,092 | $338,594 | 15 | — |
| 2020 | $85,060 | $882,022 | $872,722 | $352,615 | 16 | $15 |
About Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children
Based on IRS filings
Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children is a public charity focused on Human Services, based in Hudson, NC. IRS filing data is available from 2020 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $557K in total assets. In 2025, it awarded 10 grants totaling $220K.
Focus Areas
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children is led by Hannah S. Romero, Executive Director on every filing since 2024; 1 of 14 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Hannah S. Romero
Executive Director
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$81K (2024) → $89K (2025)
Jeff Link
Chair
Board Member → Vice Chair, 2023
Vice Chair → Chair, 2024
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Don Phipps
Board Member
On filings since 2020
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Mandy White
Treasurer
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tonya Jones
Secretary
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Wayne Rash
Vice Chair
Board Member → Vice Chair, 2025
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kevin Brown
Board Member
On filings since 2023
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Becky Gibbons
Board Member
On filings since 2024
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Gonzalo Vazquez
Board Member
On filings since 2024
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Lester Whittington
Board Member
On filings since 2024
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Rick Shew
Board Member
On filings since 2024
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Anna Cook
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Megan Moody
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Mike Harris
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (14)
- Former: Donnie Potter (2020–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Megan Gentry (2020–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Anna Martin (2022–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Chris Bumgarner (2023–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Holly Cobb McKim (2023–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Kim Burns (2020–2023) — Chair
- Former: Teresa Branch (2020–2023) — Executive Director
- Former: Terry Starnes (2020–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Dale Fisher (2020–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Melissa Hayes (2020–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Stacey Cooke (2020–2022) — Vice Chair
- Former: April Jacob (2020–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Joy Davis (2020–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Tonya Suddreth (2020–2021) — Secretary
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "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 $89K, to Hannah S Romero (Executive Director).
Frequently asked questions about Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children
How much does Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children give each year?
Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children gave $220K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $320K across 11 grants.
What is Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children's typical grant size?
Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children's median grant in 2025 was $12,174, and its average grant was $22,045, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Where does Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children give grants?
Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children gives mostly in North Carolina: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Lenoir, NC (5 grants) and Granite Falls, NC (3 grants).
Does Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 10 grants with a stated purpose on Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Child Care Quality Enhancement" (8 grants).
Who are Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children's largest grantees?
Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children's largest 2025 grantees include Caldwell County Schools ($90,000), Northlakes Academy Inc ($30,000) and Creative Beginnings LLC ($26,271), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 66% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children?
Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children reported $557K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $1.4M.
What is Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children?
Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children is a public charity focused on Human Services, based in Hudson, NC. It holds $557K in total assets as of 2025.
What is Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children's EIN?
Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 20-1090467. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS February 10, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS February 8, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 7, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 24, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS February 4, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS March 2, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
Live grants for the work Caldwell County Smart Start a Partnership for Young Children funds
Human Services Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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