A Step Ahead Foundation Chattanooga Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
463740551
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2014, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Chattanooga, TN, USA
Phone
4232657837
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Reproductive Health Care Facilities and Allied Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$968,985
Expenses
$962,953
Assets
$1,519,500
Liabilities
$106,927

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KIM PERRY GARDNER (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • CATHY BOETTNER (PRESIDENT)
  • AMANDA COWLEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMANDA COWLEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $93,263 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To remove barries to contraception through education, outreach, and access to free preventive birth control. We partner with medical providers throughout our 18 county region. Individuals visit these providers to receive contraceptive care. A step ahead foundation chattanooga pays for everything that is not covered by other means (insurance). We also provide reproductive health education.

What it reported doing in 2025

Plan ahead program - provided community education regarding reproductive health and contraceptive use with the goal of helping individuals avoid unintended pregnancies. Provided assistance to those seeking information and access to birth control for preventing unintended pregnancies; provided access to clinical services through medical providers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 80% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 50% for direct work, and 50% for grants.

The verdict

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.6%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 71.1%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.6%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.58; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.7%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.6% of revenue deployed · 71.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $685K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $93K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.