Aliento Education Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
844749451
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phone
6028881066
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,119,426
Expenses
$2,342,238
Assets
$2,688,830
Liabilities
$831,145

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Reyna Montoya (Chief Executive Officer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Reyna Montoya (Chief Executive Officer): $126,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Aliento serves students, Dreamers, and mixed-status families to transform trauma into hope and action. It is led by directly impacted individuals, youth, and supporters who strive to create an environment where human potential is nurtured and not defined by immigration status. Aliento supports students and families through education initiatives, arts & healing programming, leadership development, civic engagement, and policy.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our work is divided into a four-prong approach: 1 Cultiva is the name of our arts & healing programming where we provide arts & healing workshops and mental health support through group therapy, open mics, and events at schools and in the community. In the community, Aliento offers arts & healing workshops and open mics open to anyone in the community ages 7 and up. At schools, Aliento partners with K-20 education institutions to do the programming at school sites. 2 Nurture is the leadership development & student engagement programming of the organization that is part of our education initiatives. Aliento works with high schools, community colleges, and universities to increase youth agency, leadership, and self-advocacy. Aliento provides paid fellowships & internships for school credit to help create and develop student hubs at high schools, colleges, and universities across Arizona. 3 Transform is our program rooted in the sentiment that no one can accomplish things alone. Aliento believes in broadening the coalition of support to create sustainable change in our communities and achieve Aliento's mission of transforming trauma into hope and action. This is why we do professional development for educators, and host trainings with faith leaders, school leaders, and state legislators. 4 Civic Engagement and Policy is our fourth approach to ensure systems and structures are welcoming to all students regardless of immigration status. In 2022, Aliento's students, allies, and coalition partners led the passage of in-state tuition and college scholarships for Arizona students regardless of immigration status.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 81.4%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 10th 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: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.5%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.15; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.31; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 32.2% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90% of revenue deployed · 81.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $126K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.