Amala Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770631194
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
5124768889
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations

Reported finances

Revenue
$351,831
Expenses
$435,477
Assets
$866,645
Liabilities
$1,098

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARIA ARABBO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • CAROLYN PENNINGTON (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • JENNIFER LUCAS (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CAROLYN PENNINGTON (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $86,961 total reported compensation
  • MARIA ARABBO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $41,046 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER LUCAS (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $35,328 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Amala cultivates cultures of belonging through community building, and the teaching and practice of wellbeing.

What it reported doing in 2024

Circle up. Amalas circle up program facilitates social-emotional learning and mindfulness practices in central Texas schools. Students, parents, teachers, and administrators learn practices to improve emotional regulation and interpersonal communication skills, which enhance overall well-being, increase empathy, improve classroom and home environments, and increase job satisfaction. Professional development. Amala foundations professional development programs foster personal and collective growth within organizations through experiential sessions that prioritize wellness, stress management, mindfulness, healing-centered practices, and community building.

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

STRONG - 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: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88.8%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th 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: 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: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -23.8%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.99; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 37.5%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $387K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $87K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.