Advocating Change Together

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411360336
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone
6516410297
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Developmentally Disabled Centers

Reported finances

Revenue
$983,313
Expenses
$1,082,348
Assets
$272,219
Liabilities
$255,133

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JENNNIFER WALTON (EXECUTIVE DI): $85,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Advocating change together's (act) mission is to advance "self advocacy" which, as its name suggests, engages people with developmental disabilities to be in charge of their own decisions and to speak for themselves. Act describes self-advocacy as a three-legged stool. The first leg is the personal empowerment that someone grows into, where they can speak for themselves adn go for what they want. The second led is understanding disability not as a physcial problem within the person, but as a discrimination problem within society. The third leg is the social change movement, where people with disabilities join together (organize) to get the power to change society.

What it reported doing in 2024

2025 has been a year of growth, action, and support for advocating change together (act). As we continue building momentum toward act's 50th anniversary in 2029, we reflect on the incredible progress we've made in promoting self-advocacy, disability leadership, and community inclusion. This year, act strengthened its commitment to disability justice, expanded the self-advocates Minnesota (sam) network, and trained new leaders through the act olmstead academy. One of our proudest moments this year was hosting the 2nd annual disability pride festival in july. This festival brought together self-advocates, community members, and allies to celebrate disability culture, amplify disabled voices, and continue pushing for equity and inclusion. The overwhelming support and participation reaffirmed the power of our movement. In addition to celebrating our successes, we have also been strategically planning for the future. Throughout 2025, act engaged in a comprehensive strategic planning process to lay the groundwork for our next five years. The act forward 2025-2029 strategic plan outlines key priorities, including expanding the self-advocacy movement, strengthening our organizational foundation, and securing long-term sustainability. This plan will guide our efforts as we continue to build a strong, disability-led movement that will carry us into our 50th anniversary and beyond. As we look to the future, our work remains vital. The act team and our dedicated network of self-advocates continue to push for policy change, systemic improvements, and stronger community connections. We are proud of what we have accomplished together and are excited for the next chapter in our movement.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 92% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 83.6%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.1%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.25; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.94; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.9%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92% of revenue deployed · 83.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $905K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $85K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.