Acsi Children's Education Fund Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 474074093
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2014
- Location
- Colorado Springs, CO, USA
- Phone
- 7195286906
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Service Organizations
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $16,210,592
- Expenses
- $14,493,380
- Assets
- $11,255,532
- Liabilities
- $8,437,732
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JAMES ELLIOTT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- KEVIN BUELKE (CFO): $218,967 total reported compensation
- JAMES ELLIOTT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $119,723 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Support educational choice and innovation through school vouchers, scholarship tax credit programs and other scholarship programs, education savings accounts, and other choice programs that provide parents the opportunity to choose a christ-centered education.
What it reported doing in 2024
The organization provides scholarships to eligible students for qualified educational expenses incurred in attending eligible schools. It supports educational choice and innovation through school vouchers, scholarship tax credit programs and other scholarship programs, education savings accounts, and other choice programs that provide parents the opportunity to choose a christ-centered education for their children. The organization accepts funds from individuals, businesses, and scholarship tax credit programs for eligible students to pursue educational opportunities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 93% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 76
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 89.6%; rating input score 90
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th 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: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 10.6%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.78; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.75; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 17.9% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 18.4% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 20.8% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 89.6% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $14.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $219K · 12 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: 4 filed related-organization links
- 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.