Friends of Breakthrough Schools

Public charity · Grantmaker Cleveland, OH EIN: 20-4948838

Our mission is to perform fundraising and advocacy activities that exclusively support the opertions and growth of the breakthrough public schools management organization and all its member schools.

Key facts about Friends of Breakthrough Schools

In short: Friends of Breakthrough Schools gave $2.2M across 6 grants in 2025 (avg $365K), mostly in Ohio. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.

EIN
20-4948838
Latest 990 filing
Form 990, 2025
Annual giving (2025)
$2,190,000
Grants made (2025)
6
Average grant
$365,000
Median grant
$59,568
Total assets
$106,999,270
Primary geography
Ohio (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)

Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990 · View filing

Total Assets

$107.0M

-15.1% YoY

Annual Giving

$2.2M

+750.3% YoY

Grant Count

6

+20.0% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$365K

+608.6% YoY

About Friends of Breakthrough Schools

Based on IRS filings

Friends of Breakthrough Schools is a public charity focused on Education, based in Cleveland, OH. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $107.0M in total assets. In 2025, it awarded 6 grants totaling $2.2M. Net investment income was $144K.

Focus Areas

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

Grant Distribution by State

1state

Share of all 6 itemized 2025 grant dollars.

States

Cities

Cleveland

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$2M$4M$6M11 grants20199 grants20208 grants2021Total only2022Total only20235 grants20246 grants2025

From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $7K (2022) to $5.8M (2019). In 2025 it made 6 grants totaling $2.2M.

Hatched bars: grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 6 recipients in 2025

Village Prep Willard: $1.3MVillage Prep Willard$1.3MCitizens Academy Southeast: $767KCitizens Academy Southeast$767KBreakthrough Public Schools: $100KBreakthrough Public Schools$100KVillage Prep Woodland Hills: $19KVillage Prep Woodland Hills$19KVillage Prep Cliffs: $17KVillage Prep Cliffs$17KCitizens Leadership Academy East: $15KCitizens Leadership AcademyEast$15K

The largest 2025 recipient was Village Prep Willard ($1.3M). Together the top 6 received $2.2M.

Grant Size Distribution

19 grants across all recorded years

11<$50K4$50–100K2$100–250K$250–500K1$500K–1M1$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 11 grants of 19 (58%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Village Prep Willard Cleveland, OHSchool Funding$1,272,424
Citizens Academy Southeast Cleveland, OHSchool Funding$766,566
Breakthrough Public Schools Cleveland, OHSchool Funding$100,000
Village Prep Woodland Hills Cleveland, OHSchool Funding$19,136
Village Prep Cliffs Cleveland, OHSchool Funding$17,192
Citizens Leadership Academy East Cleveland, OHSchool Funding$14,682

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Revenue
Expenses
Net Investment Income
$0$5M$10M$15M$20M2019202020212022202320242025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$106,999,270$126,050,795$121,077,217
Revenue$6,680,041$17,741,329$14,907,169
Expenses$7,129,832$9,347,949$9,769,537
Net Investment Income$144,182$7,879,547$4,341,643

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS April 21, 2020)
  2. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS March 6, 2021)
  3. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 16, 2022)
  4. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 15, 2023)
  5. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 14, 2024)
  6. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 14, 2025)
  7. Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 6, 2026)

Leadership & Key People

Officers and directors from IRS filings

Friends of Breakthrough Schools is led by Susan Ertle, Executive Director since 2021 (on filings since 2019); 4 of 44 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Susan Ertle

    Executive Director

    Executive Di → Executive Director, 2021

    On filings since 2019

    40 hrs/week

    $90K (2019) → $213K (2025)

  • Craig Panzica

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Ed Bell

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Jeff Berlin

    Trustee

    Treasurer → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Jeffrey Cristal

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • John Lemay

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Larry Orwin

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Michael Cristal

    Trustee

    Board Chair → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Mike De Windt

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Peter Rome

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Cosmoronde Danielly

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Dan Mascaro

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Jim Huber

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Lauren Miller

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Mario Pena

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Sanjay Vyas

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Seku Shabazz

    Trustee

    Director → Trustee, 2021

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Andrew Bennett

    Trustee

    On filings since 2021

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Bill Fisher

    Trustee

    On filings since 2021

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Celeste Kamasa Scott

    Trustee

    On filings since 2021

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Dave Loomis

    Trustee

    On filings since 2021

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Free Foutz

    Trustee

    On filings since 2021

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Karen Long Cascio

    Trustee

    On filings since 2021

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Matt Brewer

    Trustee

    On filings since 2021

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Rudy Bentlage

    Trustee

    On filings since 2021

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Meg Mayhugh

    Trustee

    On filings since 2022

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Susan Chiancone

    Trustee

    On filings since 2022

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Bryan Schauer

    Trustee

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • David Cook

    Trustee

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Elle Carolan

    Trustee

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Molly Brown

    Trustee

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Adebanjo Solaru

    Trustee

    On filings since 2024

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Amanda Brady

    Trustee

    On filings since 2024

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Andrew Gehrlein

    Trustee

    On filings since 2024

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Tom Dittoe

    Trustee

    On filings since 2024

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Andrew McRae

    Trustee

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Aysegul Keskin Zeren

    Trustee

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Bradley Schlang

    Trustee

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Eric Pound

    Trustee

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Jason Lockett

    Trustee

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Peter Shipley

    Trustee

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Tim Mann

    Senior Advancement Officer

    On filings since 2023

    40 hrs/week

    $121K (2023) → $126K (2025)

  • Brittany Hurd

    Chief Alumni Success Officer

    On filings since 2024

    40 hrs/week

    $152K (2024) → $144K (2025)

  • Kelly Berg

    Chief Development Officer

    On filings since 2024

    40 hrs/week

    $102K (2024) → $127K (2025)

Former officers (91)
  • Former: Cecil Lipscomb (2019–2024) — Trustee
  • Former: Doug Mangen (2019–2024) — Treasurer
  • Former: John King (2019–2024) — Trustee
  • Former: Laura Mimura (2019–2024) — Trustee
  • Former: Jim Carulas (2022–2024) — Trustee
  • Former: Jim Kavalec (2022–2024) — Trustee
  • Former: Traci Forrester (2023–2024) — Trustee
  • Former: Aurora Kitko (2024) — Trustee
  • Former: Jim Lemay (2024) — Trustee
  • Former: Brock Milstein (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Celeste Kamasa (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: David Lowman (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Diane Singer (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: John Zitzner (2019–2023) — President
  • Former: Karen Long (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Mary Herzac (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Matthew Jones (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Michael Maroon (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Michelle Perez (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Nora Loftus (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Patti Schaar (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Rita Sehgal (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Suresh Bafna (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Bill Welsh (2020–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Jolyn Parker (2020–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Linda Olejko (2020–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Erin De La Mare (2021–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Jeff Ahola (2021–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Jill Arena (2021–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: John Grabner (2021–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Wes Gilllespie (2021–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Bill Koehler (2022–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Bob Sims (2022–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Charlie Lougheed (2022–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Chris Di Tullio (2022–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Jeff Cristal (2022–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Lauren Mimura (2022–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Nina Butler (2022–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Tim Coughlin (2022–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Anand Patel (2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Angelina Grujic (2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Bj Solaru (2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Demari Muff (2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Jeff Sinclair (2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Lauryn Durham (2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Yvonne Esiri (2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Jamie Cole (2019–2022) — Trustee
  • Former: Odell Coleman (2019–2022) — Trustee
  • Former: Paul Martin (2021–2022) — Trustee
  • Former: George Vonzedlitz (2022) — Trustee
  • Former: Marty Gates (2022) — Trustee
  • Former: Charles Lougheed (2019–2021) — Trustee
  • Former: Damian Thomas (2019–2021) — Trustee
  • Former: George Von Zedlitz (2019–2021) — Trustee
  • Former: Greg Althans (2019–2021) — Trustee
  • Former: James Carulas (2019–2021) — Trustee
  • Former: James Kavalec (2019–2021) — Trustee
  • Former: Martin Gates (2019–2021) — Trustee
  • Former: Megan Mayhugh (2019–2021) — Trustee
  • Former: Timothy Coughlin (2019–2021) — Trustee
  • Former: William Koehler (2019–2021) — Trustee
  • Former: Chris Ditullio (2021) — Trustee
  • Former: William Welsh (2021) — Trustee
  • Former: Alex King (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Brian Tucker (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Bridget Moreno (2019–2020) — Vice Chair
  • Former: Chris Adams (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: David Gunning (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: David Loomis (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Denise Carkhuff (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Jeanette Grasselli Brown (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: John Sinnenberg (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Matt Byrnes (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Maurice Harapiak (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Michael Merriman (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Poppie Parish (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Richard Pace (2019–2020) — Vice Chair
  • Former: Rudolf Bentlage (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Thomas Rudibaugh (2019–2020) — Vice Chair
  • Former: Walter Kalberer (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Clayron Kryvicky (2020) — Director
  • Former: Andrew Lee (2019) — Director
  • Former: Brent Zimmerman (2019) — Director
  • Former: David Mannarino (2019) — Director
  • Former: Donald Hayes (2019) — Director
  • Former: Heather Thiltgen (2019) — Director
  • Former: James Manley (2019) — Director
  • Former: Jane Outcalt (2019) — Director
  • Former: Jennifer Grossman (2019) — Director
  • Former: Julia Bolton (2019) — Director
  • Former: Robert Gillespie (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.

Compensation Overview

From 2025 IRS filing

Susan Ertle — Executive Director: $213KSusan ErtleExecutive Director$213KBrittany Hurd — Chief Alumni Success Officer: $144KBrittany HurdChief Alumni Success Officer$144KKelly Berg — Chief Development Officer: $127KKelly BergChief Development Officer$127KTim Mann — Senior Advancement Officer: $126KTim MannSenior Advancement Officer$126K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $213K, to Susan Ertle (Executive Director). 4 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.

Frequently asked questions about Friends of Breakthrough Schools

How much does Friends of Breakthrough Schools give each year?

Friends of Breakthrough Schools gave $2.2M across 6 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $258K across 5 grants.

What is Friends of Breakthrough Schools's typical grant size?

Friends of Breakthrough Schools's median grant in 2025 was $59,568, and its average grant was $365,000, across 6 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.

Where does Friends of Breakthrough Schools give grants?

Friends of Breakthrough Schools gives mostly in Ohio: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Cleveland, OH (6 grants).

Does Friends of Breakthrough Schools give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 6 grants with a stated purpose on Friends of Breakthrough Schools's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "School Funding" (6 grants).

Who are Friends of Breakthrough Schools's largest grantees?

Friends of Breakthrough Schools's largest 2025 grantees include Village Prep Willard ($1,272,424), Citizens Academy Southeast ($766,566) and Breakthrough Public Schools ($100,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 98% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Friends of Breakthrough Schools?

Friends of Breakthrough Schools reported $107.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $6.7M.

What is Friends of Breakthrough Schools?

Friends of Breakthrough Schools is a public charity focused on Education, based in Cleveland, OH. It holds $107.0M in total assets as of 2025.

What is Friends of Breakthrough Schools's EIN?

Friends of Breakthrough Schools's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 20-4948838. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.

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