Aina Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
872570566
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Kapaa, HI, USA
Phone
8086392172
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Improvement, Capacity Building N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$489,429
Expenses
$371,363
Assets
$455,181
Liabilities
$279

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JEREMIE MAKEPA (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SANDRA CUMMINGS (TREASURER): $4,254 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Transform neglected land from hazardous liabilities into productive assets by protecting neighborhoods with fire safety initiatives & enhancing agricultural output, sustainable eco-systems & culturally significant areas

What it reported doing in 2024

Aina alliance conducts wildfire prevention & mitigation activities on over 400 acres near anahola, Hawaii. The alliance removes vegetation, removes illegally dumped vehicles & appliances and creates & maintains an intricate system of fire breaks and access roads. This work saved the community of anahola on the night of september 27, 2023 when a wildfire started in the dry grass and quickly magnified. 30 foot flames were fueled by the trade winds that pushed an enormous black cloud of toxic smoke into our neighborhoods. Police evacuated residents as hot ashes rained down. The fire department was able to successfully battle the blaze because the access roads and fire breaks allowed them to extinguish the fire from all angles. Our work saved countless lives, homes and property.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 85% 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

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: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 35
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.1%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 95.1%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: $51.05 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings

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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 25%; rating input score 25; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 24.1%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.23; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 89.5% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.1% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 29.9% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.1% of revenue deployed · 95.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 4 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $353K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $4K · 4 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $115K reported
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 25/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.