Animal Refuge Keepers Inc the Ark

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464330097
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2014
Location
North Augusta, SC, USA
Phone
8032791613
Rating
56
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Reported finances

Revenue
$673,216
Expenses
$127,853
Assets
$1,249,948
Liabilities
$1,452

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Timothy Bemiller (President)
  • Tami Cassaro (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • David Bolton (Board Member)
  • Julia Bolton (Board Member)
  • Henry Rockwell (Board Member)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide a temporary home and medical treatment for stray and abandoned felines until they are rehabilitated and adopted into permanent homes

What it reported doing in 2025

To provide a temporary home, medical treatment and food for abandoned or stray felines until they are adopted into permanent homes.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 37
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 43
  • Sustainability: 90
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 19.1%; rating input score 19
  • Program expense ratio: 78.3%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 42.9%; rating input score 43; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 81%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.78; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 32.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 19.1% of revenue deployed · 78.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $100K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.