Ahu Ili

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
933426743
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Kamuela, HI, USA
Phone
8088902505
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Reported finances

Revenue
$394,344
Expenses
$349,453
Assets
$3,682,434
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARY KATIE BENIONI (PRESIDENT)
  • GENNARO J ZARRO JR (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARY KATIE BENIONI (PRESIDENT): $184,274 total reported compensation
  • TAFFI U WISE (SECRETARY): $93,305 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 provide support services to kanu o ka 'aina learning 'ohana in furtherance of its mission to administer programs for the advancement of the education and culture of the hawaiian people.

What it reported doing in 2025

Maintenance and service of the new markets tax credit transaction ensuring timely payments regulatory compliance and coordination with the community development entities to support ongoing reporting throughout the seven-year compliance. Service as a native hawaiian organization (nho) subrecipient for a preschool and charter school providing fiscal oversight and grant administration.

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 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 57
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.5%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 97.3%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 11.4%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.54; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.6%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 136.8% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -119.6% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.5% of revenue deployed · 97.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $340K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $184K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.