Adopt a Golden Knoxville Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
273186470
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2010
Location
Knoxville, TN, USA
Phone
8659400688
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Reported finances

Revenue
$598,648
Expenses
$233,888
Assets
$729,786
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dallis Howard (Co-President)
  • Amy Johnston (Co-President)

People named in this filing

  • Michele Lawson (Intake & Transportation Di)
  • Jaime Thomas (Behavior Director)
  • Vicki Benson (Co-Dog Placement Director)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To rescue golden retrievers from shelters or from owners who can no longer care for them. To provide all necessary veterinary care for them and place in foster homes until they can be adopted by new owners. And to educate the public on responsible dog ownership.

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization rescued approximately 130 dogs in 2025. Many were rescued from high kill shelters or were surrendered by individuals. In some cases the dogs were purchased off sites such as craigslist. The dogs were given vet care, surgery if not spayed or neutered, microchipped, and in some cases, boarded and trained. Some were transported to other parts of the country for adoption.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 87% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 6
  • Sustainability: 86
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 34.2%; rating input score 34
  • Program expense ratio: 85.4%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $48.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 60.9%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.12; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 31.9% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 34.2% of revenue deployed · 85.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 15 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $200K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 18 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 34/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.