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Upward Scholars

Public charity · Grantmaker Redwood City, CA EIN: 45-4128140 Website

Upward Scholars provides adult immigrants the boost they need to move up the economic ladder through education and career development support.

Key facts about Upward Scholars

EIN
45-4128140
Latest 990 filing
Form 990, 2025
Total assets
$1,202,197

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

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990 · View filing

Total Assets

$1.2M

-7.6% YoY

Revenue

$1.5M

+34.1% YoY

Net Investment Income

$39K

+21.1% YoY

Expenses

$1.6M

+25.6% YoY

About Upward Scholars

Based on IRS filings

Upward Scholars is a public charity focused on Education, based in Redwood City, CA. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $1.2M in total assets. Net investment income was $39K.

Focus Areas

Open Grants

1 open opportunity from Upward Scholars

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

Grant Distribution by State

1state

States

Cities

Menlo Park

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$2K$4K$6KTotal only2019 Total only2020 1 grant2021 Total only2022 Total only2023 0 grants2024 0 grants2025

From 2019 to 2023, annual grant giving ranged from $4K (2022) to $6K (2021). In 2023 it reported $5K 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.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Grant Size Distribution

1 grant across all recorded years

1<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 1 grant of 1 (100%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

No grants recorded for 2025.

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Revenue
Expenses
Net Investment Income
$0$500K$1M$1.5M$2M2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$1,202,197$1,300,455$1,439,965
Revenue$1,545,192$1,152,558$1,688,819
Expenses$1,646,557$1,310,899$1,321,450
Net Investment Income$38,601$31,867$25,070

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS April 22, 2022)
  2. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS April 27, 2020)
  3. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 4, 2021)
  4. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 2, 2023)
  5. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 25, 2024)
  6. Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 12, 2026)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024

Leadership & Key People

Officers and directors from IRS filings

Upward Scholars is led by Linda Prieto, Executive Director on every filing since 2019; 4 of 22 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Linda Prieto

    Executive Director

    On filings since 2019

    40 hrs/week

    $117K (2019) → $35K (2025)

  • Anna Dyer

    Executive Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    40 hrs/week

    $15K (2025)

  • Erika Pretell

    President

    Director → President, 2021

    On filings since 2019

    4 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Diana Viscarra

    Programs Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    40 hrs/week

    $103K (2025)

  • Anuj Gaggar

    Director

    On filings since 2019

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Rodrigo Espinosa

    Director

    On filings since 2021

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Amado Flores Rentera

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Anglica Elizondo Bryant

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • David Moore

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Jeannie Karl

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Stefani Jacobson Willis

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Oliver Araque

    Director

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Jennifer Min

    Director

    On filings since 2024

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Leticia Gonzalez-Ratchev

    Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Maria Nguyen

    Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Nancy Park

    Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Rob Lyman

    Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Marta Dugarte

    Ops & Finance Manager

    New on the 2025 filing

    40 hrs/week

    $102K (2025)

  • Eric Takaha

    Treasurer

    Assistant Treasurer → Treasurer, 2022

    On filings since 2021

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Beth Harrison

    Secretary

    On filings since 2022

    3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Sangita Jayaraman

    Vice President

    Director → Vice President, 2024

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Susanna Tang

    Treasurer

    On filings since 2024

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (18)
  • Former: Marilyn Ezrin (2020–2024) — Vice President
  • Former: Gabriel Swank (2021–2023) — Treasurer
  • Former: Julie Harstein (2019–2022) — Director
  • Former: Wendy Kuehnl-Ortiz (2022) — Director
  • Former: Manny Amo (2019–2021) — Secretary
  • Former: Stef Jacobson-Willis (2019–2021) — Director
  • Former: Wendy Keuhnl-Ortiz (2019–2021) — Director
  • Former: Amado Flores (2020–2021) — Director
  • Former: Angie Elizondo-Bryant (2020–2021) — Director
  • Former: Matheus Riolfi (2020–2021) — Director
  • Former: Elizabeth Weal (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Irma Zoepf (2019–2020) — President
  • Former: Kara Rosenberg (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Moises Bautista (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Ryan Schwartz (2019–2020) — Treasurer
  • Former: Susan Miller Hornbeek (2019–2020) — Director
  • Former: Adam Varro (2019) — Director
  • Former: Kevin Wang (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

Diana Viscarra — Programs Director: $103KDiana ViscarraPrograms Director$103KMarta Dugarte — Ops&Fin Manager: $102KMarta DugarteOps&Fin Manager$102KLinda Prieto — Executive Dir.: $35KLinda PrietoExecutive Dir.$35KAnna Dyer — Executive Dir.: $15KAnna DyerExecutive Dir.$15K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $103K, to Diana Viscarra (Programs Director). 4 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.

Frequently asked questions about Upward Scholars

How large is Upward Scholars?

Upward Scholars reported $1.2M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $1.5M.

What is Upward Scholars?

Upward Scholars is a public charity focused on Education, based in Redwood City, CA. It holds $1.2M in total assets as of 2025.

Where does Upward Scholars operate?

Upward Scholars has awarded grants in California.

What is Upward Scholars's EIN?

Upward Scholars's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 45-4128140. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

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

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