Academy for Creating Enterprise

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
870641040
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Lehi, UT, USA
Phone
8016097448
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,288,182
Expenses
$2,983,401
Assets
$6,568,989
Liabilities
$3,840,280

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Robert Heyn (Executive Director)
  • Cameron Crowther (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Robert Heyn (Executive Director): $173,410 total reported compensation
  • Cameron Crowther (President): $145,329 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We ignite the entrepreneurial mindset in faith-driven people through training and support to create more abundant lives.

What it reported doing in 2025

Grants were given to international programs who utilized member groups (called "Chapters") to facilitate all activity needed to assist members in their journey to become financially independent. In 2025, 22,562 participants attended a training led by in-country staff. Participants become members of a local chapter where they receive ongoing training and mentoring. Chapters are led by local volunteers who are trained to provide that mentoring during monthly meetings and visits to individual member businesses. By the end of 2025 a total of 1,220 Chapters existed in which an average of 24,607 graduates participated monthly. The Chapter trainings and mentoring efforts helped participants form 12,174 new businesses (Income Generating Activities). Program expenditures represented 81% of our annual budget.In 2025, chapter programs operated in the following countries: the Philippines, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Guatemala and Honduras. The following numbers represent statistics for the year 2025: In-Country Staff provided:* Start Now training sessions - 665* Grow Now training sessions - 55* Residential training sessions - 5Active Chapter membership - 24,607 * Chapter Presidency trainings - 5.069New Income Generating Activities (new small businesses) formed by chapter members in 2025 - 12,174The Annual Academy Awards in each Area ($64,783 spent in all areas) celebrated the achievements of members throughout the year.The Academy partnered with the Light the World Campaign (Giving Machines) in distributing over $500,000 of gifts and training purchased by individual donors to over 1,300 business owners to help them grow their businesses.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 77% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 63
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 81.4%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th 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; 63rd 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: -30.4%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.2; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $173K · 13 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.