Alabama Capital Network Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 874355000
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2022
- Location
- Birmingham, AL, USA
- Phone
- 2052397152
- Rating
- 66
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Small Business Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $374,507
- Expenses
- $349,999
- Assets
- $219,158
- Liabilities
- $13,575
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- Benzamin Choi (Executive Officer): $165,584 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Alabama Capital Network, Inc. provides start-up companies and early stage entrepreneurs with access to education, capital and technical assistance to further aid the broader community by supporting local economic development and education.
What it reported doing in 2024
ACN evaluates over 350 startup pitch presentations each year. These come from pitch competitions, university programs, incubator residents, conferences, university programs, and unsolicited pitches being submitted on the ACN website. Wherever possible, ACN provides feedback to each startup relating to how they can best grow their company and improve the likelihood of receiving funding. The best of these companies are then presented in regular Showcase events similar to the TV show Shark Tank, where investors in the audience may opt to invest in the companies presenting. ACN does not make investment recommendations, but instead focuses on making introductions and connections that support the entrepreneurs.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Membership-supported. 86% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
- 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 60
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 38
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 76.8%; rating input score 77
- Program expense ratio: 82.2%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 6.5%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.63; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 47.3%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -13.8% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 38.4% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 76.8% of revenue deployed · 82.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $288K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $166K · 6 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.