A Sanctuary for Military Families Inc DBA Project Sanctuary

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261410596
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Pagosa Springs, CO, USA
Phone
7205619193
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Military, Veterans' Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,630,664
Expenses
$1,903,911
Assets
$2,692,956
Liabilities
$361,223

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Heather Ehle-Ray (CEO)
  • Ronald Ron Testa (President)
  • Bill Spangenthal (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Heather Ehle-Ray (CEO): $122,505 total reported compensation
  • Joseph M Tabone (CAO): $115,000 total reported compensation
  • Carrie L Bair-Norwood (CDMO): $102,598 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Believing that when one person serves the whole family serves, Project Sanctuary takes a human-centered, solution-based approach to helping military families heal and move forward in life. Through innovative long-term programming focused on connectedness, we restore hope and empower families to recover and thrive.

What it reported doing in 2024

Therapeutic Retreat Program: Project Sanctuarys therapeutic retreat program offers military families a way to recover, reconnect and build their capacity to support one another through recreation therapy and classes focused on communication skills, navigating life with Post Traumatic Stress and understanding the financial needs of your family. This results-driven program is run by culturally competent professionals, licensed counselors, Certified Therapeutic Recreational Specialists and supported by volunteers, many of whom have experienced the program themselves. The six-day experience includes Relationship Reset, Post Traumatic Stress, and financial awareness workshops, one-on-one time with a financial planner and / or counselors if desired, and age-appropriate youth / teen activities that mirror the adults curriculum. In FY25, 142 military families comprised of more than 481 people were supported at 17 therapeutic retreats.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.9%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 76.1%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -16.8%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.41; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.9% of revenue deployed · 76.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $123K · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.