Champions for Education Inc
Champions for Education Inc is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based public charity that was organized to raise funds and provide grants to other charities working to improve the quality of education. Its primary fundraising activity was hosting the Wells Fargo Championship golf tournament in Charlotte.
Champions for Education Inc at a glance
In short: Champions for Education Inc gave $3.4M across 19 grants in 2025 (avg $179K), mostly in North Carolina. 53% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $3,410,000
- +63.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 19
- -44.1% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $179,474
- +192.0% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $250,000
- New grantees (estimate)
- 53% first-time grantees (10 of 19, 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 October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Champions for Education Inc
- Contact
Mailing address: 3700 Gleneagles Road, Charlotte, NC 28209
Phone: (704) 554-8101
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Champions for Education Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Manna Food Bank ($400K). Together the top 10 received $2.8M.
Grant Size Distribution
145 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 91 grants of 145 (63%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
All reported 2025 grant dollars went to recipients in North Carolina. The organization’s stated mission described grantmaking to charities working to improve education quality around the nation.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 19 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Champions for Education Inc open to new grantees?
53%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 10 of 19 grantees (53%) were first-time recipients. With only 19 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $203K; repeat grants $153K. How we count
Medians: $250K first-time, $250K repeat.
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2019–2025). 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 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $372K (2020) to $3.4M (2025). In 2025 it made 19 grants totaling $3.4M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Manna Food Bank Asheville, NC | Support | $400,000 |
| Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry Asheville, NC | Support | $300,000 |
| United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County Asheville, NC | Support | $300,000 |
| Carolina Youth Coalition Charlotte, NC | Support | $250,000 |
| CMS Foundation Charlotte, NC | Support | $250,000 |
| First Tee Charlotte, NC | Support | $250,000 |
| YMCA of Greater Charlotte Charlotte, NC | Support | $250,000 |
| Levine Children's Hospital Charlotte, NC | Support | $250,000 |
| Eliminate the Digital Divide (E2D) Davidson, NC | Support | $250,000 |
| Charlotte Sports Foundation Charlotte, NC | Support | $250,000 |
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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 | — | $76,945 | $3,940,372 | $3,410,000 | 19 | $17,844 |
| 2024 | $7,216,173 | $27,579,093 | $27,432,067 | $2,089,425 | 34 | $530,255 |
| 2023 | $9,544,601 | $24,301,704 | $23,910,195 | $2,191,516 | 41 | $114,415 |
| 2022 | $4,769,828 | $14,830,024 | $14,863,440 | $1,120,620 | 21 | $-2,130 |
| 2021 | $5,547,330 | $17,293,447 | $15,624,527 | $1,598,666 | 30 | $2,817 |
| 2020 | $6,992,245 | $4,735,841 | $5,182,351 | $372,390 | 9 | $550 |
| 2019 | $4,214,086 | $18,651,970 | $18,019,920 | $998,187 | 19 | $2,616 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The organization’s stated mission was to raise funds for grants to charities that strive to improve education quality around the nation. Its filing says its primary fundraising activity was hosting the Wells Fargo Championship and that it maintained procedures to monitor grant funds and guide recipients’ compliance with award terms and applicable requirements.
The 2025 recipients included organizations with varied missions. For example, Carolina Youth Coalition says it prepares high-performing, under-resourced students to enter, excel, and graduate from college. CMS Foundation says it invests in innovation to help Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools address challenges and expand opportunities for students and educators. E2D says it trains young adults, transforms donated technology, and equips North Carolina communities with digital tools. These are the grantees’ stated missions, not additional statements of the funder’s mission.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, Champions for Education reported 19 grants totaling $3,410,000. Grant amounts ranged from $14,000 to $400,000, with a median of $250,000.
Among the reported 2025 grants were $400,000 to MANNA Food Bank and $300,000 each to Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry and United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County. Grants of $250,000 included Carolina Youth Coalition, CMS Foundation, First Tee, YMCA of Greater Charlotte, Levine Children’s Hospital, Eliminate the Digital Divide (E2D), Charlotte Sports Foundation, and Wee Kirk Presbyterian Church. Allegro Foundation received $150,000.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Kendall Alley as chairman. Directors listed were Rich Davies, Stephanie Rivera, John W Harris, Felix Sabates, Jay Coleman, Eric Steigerwalt, Johno Harris, Luke Kissam, and Robert Stevanovski.
Champions for Education Inc is led by Kendall Alley, Chairman since 2022 (on filings since 2019); none of the 12 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Kendall Alley
Chairman
Director → Chairman, 2022
On filings since 2019
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Eric Steigerwalt
Director
On filings since 2019
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Felix Sabates
Director
On filings since 2019
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
John W. Harris
Director
Board President → Director, 2022
On filings since 2019
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Armando Chardiet
Director
On filings since 2020
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Johno Harris
Director
On filings since 2020
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Luke Kissam
Director
On filings since 2020
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Rich Davies
Director
On filings since 2020
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Robert Stevanovski
Director
On filings since 2020
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Stephanie Rivera
Director
On filings since 2020
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jay Coleman
Director
On filings since 2022
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Rob Engel
Director
On filings since 2022
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (7)
- Former: Gary Sobba (2019–2024) — Touranmaent Executive Director
- Former: Nicholas Carey (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Malcom E. Everett III (2019) — Tournament Chair
- Former: Mark Tarwater (2019) — Director
- Former: Michael E. Crum (2019) — Board Chairman
- Former: Richard Stick Williams (2019) — Director
- Former: Thomas Skains (2019) — Director
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.
Frequently asked questions about Champions for Education Inc
How much does Champions for Education Inc give each year?
Champions for Education Inc gave $3.4M across 19 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $2.1M across 34 grants.
What is Champions for Education Inc's typical grant size?
Champions for Education Inc's median grant in 2025 was $250,000, and its average grant was $179,474, across 19 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Champions for Education Inc that year got $203K on average.
Where does Champions for Education Inc give grants?
Champions for Education Inc 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 Charlotte, NC (14 grants) and Asheville, NC (3 grants).
Does Champions for Education Inc give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 19 grants with a stated purpose on Champions for Education Inc's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Support" (19 grants).
Who are Champions for Education Inc's largest grantees?
Champions for Education Inc's largest 2025 grantees include Manna Food Bank ($400,000), Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry ($300,000) and United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County ($300,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 29% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
What does Champions for Education Inc fund?
The organization’s stated mission was to raise funds for grants to charities that strive to improve education quality around the nation. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Champions for Education Inc?
Champions for Education Inc has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Champions for Education Inc's EIN?
Champions for Education Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 02-0615986. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS January 15, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS March 9, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS January 14, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS January 17, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS January 16, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS January 15, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 17, 2025)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Champions for Education Inc's focus areas in our free grants database
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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open
Figures come from Champions for Education Inc's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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