Air Institute Corporation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 845010885
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2021–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020
- Location
- Frederick, MD, USA
- Phone
- 3018982058
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Small Business Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $117,765
- Expenses
- $148,357
- Assets
- $98,423
- Liabilities
- $2,386
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JAN NEWCOMB (PRESIDENT)
- BETH FLOWERS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- BETH FLOWERS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $100,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Air provides rural and under-resourced communities with programming that inspires new connections and ignites the creative economy. Creative people expand business skills, businesspeople get more creative; they learn to collaborate, adapt, and thrive together.
What it reported doing in 2024
Air collaborative is an empowering ecosystem that provides creatives, businesses, and communities the tools, resources, and support to realize their potential. Diverse community members learn from each other, support each other, and put both creative vision and business know-how to work.the work of air collaborative is a field-tested and iterative, three-step pathway designed to build innovation and economic sustainability. Air methods and processes amplify unique cultures and people to grow diverse, locally-led businesses and enterprises.our programs are now being used by many sectors: economic development, emergency management and disaster preparedness, and education.step 1. Engage workshopassess local interest and build enthusiasm.work with air, your regional air affiliate, and your community to discover your way forward with a simple first step. A two-hour engage workshop will inspire hope, build empathy and self-reliance, develop new leaders, increase local investment, and diversify your economy. We've identified different topics and sectors to help your community begin to use creativity to grow and thrive. Pick the best focus for your community and these two-hour workshops can get you started. When people move to action together, relationships, ownership, and learning become deeper, and real change is possible.we want every community to raise the value of art and creativity. We put together a step-by-step plan for convening partners in your community so that you can grow your creative sector and thrive. Our workshop content and exercises give your community an idea of what they can do to make your community more vibrant. Contact your regional air affiliate and they will share everything you need to gather new partners and host a workshop: logistics, agenda, powerpoint slides, marketing materials, and a survey to help assess your community readiness for this work and the other air programs.step 2: shiftdesigning beneficial community projects.in a multi-day, hands-on workshop, air certified facilitators help small teams learn to use collaboration skills, design thinking, and business planning to create small, locally implementable projects.discover new ways to think about the power of creativity and challenge your mental models about art, business, community and money. Take the mystery out of business planning. Strengthen your creative muscles and entrepreneurial mindset. Practice design thinking and prototyping.the shift workshop uses hands-on collaboration, design thinking, and business planning to help grow creative communities and economies.step 3: evolvelaunching new ventures and business expansions.participants take a flexible, multi-month, comprehensive business development program designed to transform their passions, interests, and skills into a viable venture, project, or new life path.evolve is a flexible, multi-month, business development program designed to transform passions, interests, and skills into a viable venture, project, or new life path. Cohorts of creative entrepreneurs learn practical business skills using design thinking, the air venture canvas, and lean startup principles.evolve's approach is nontraditional and individualized. If you do the work and attend the classes, you will have the know-how and tools to successfully plan, build, and launch your creative venture. Participants explore their personal needs and values before fully investing in their venture. Each participant prototypes their new product, program or service so they can learn to listen to real world feedback. Throughout the program, participants build and refine their business plan in preparation for a final presentation that helps them gain support for their venture. Participants have access to dynamic financial tools, a mastermind team, and even individual coaching, if desired.facilitators keep things localair certified facilitators are the heart of the our programs. They provide a personal connection and give participants confi
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 69
- Sustainability: 19
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 83.2%; rating input score 83
- 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: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -26%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.66; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 67.4%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -15.4% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -4.1% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 83.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $123K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.