American Council on Exercise

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
330123550
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
Phone
8582798227
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$19,271,696
Expenses
$19,732,804
Assets
$14,921,408
Liabilities
$9,344,883

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CEDRIC BRYANT (PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • CEDRIC BRYANT (PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $570,330 total reported compensation
  • ALEX MIRNEZAM (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $521,477 total reported compensation
  • AMANDA CASS (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $442,055 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Ace works to improve physical-activity levels by educating exercise professionals and health coaches, funding original research, and collaborating with experts on physical activity and health to get people from all walks of life moving.

What it reported doing in 2024

Outreach: ace continues to provide the public with science-based information to educate and encourage people from all walks of life to achieve sustainable health changes. In the past year, ace invested in original research, including youth sport coaches' knowledge of exercise physiology and related concepts. In addition, ace created the foundations for community physical activity leaders, a free online course designed to educate and empower community members seeking to get their communities more active.physical activity promotion: ace remains committed to providing the public, fitness enthusiasts, health professionals and certified professionals with free, science-based content to support more active and healthier lifestyles. In the past year, ace authored more than 200 free articles on physical activity tips and education, which covered topics such as artificial intelligence, obesity medications, mental health and wellness, and healthspan and longevity. In addition, ace coordinated 2,288unique news stories and opinion editorials to inspire and enourage physical activity.ace also partnered with like-minded organizations to promote sustainable healthier living, including its partnership with the american college of lifestyle medicine which sought to train federally qualified health center physicians. Ace also partnered with the lakeshore foundation, the physical activity alliance, and the coalition for the registration of exercise professionals. Ace served as multiple boards and committees to promote physical activity, including the forbes health medical advisory board, the roundtable on obesity solutions, the physical activity and health innovation collaborative and the u.s. News & world report medical review board.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 97% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 80.8%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 81.8%; rating input score 82; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.4%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.76; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.63; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.3%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 80.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $15.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $570K · 18 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.4M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.