Apelah Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201650360
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Ridgeland, MS, USA
Phone
9017660600
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Foster Care

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,696,460
Expenses
$4,372,351
Assets
$9,934,638
Liabilities
$1,360,629

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MELANIE KELLER (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • MICHAEL COBBS (VICE CHAIR)
  • GARY JEWEL (MERITAN REPRESENTATIVE)
  • TRACY GALLAGHER (IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR)

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

Foster care program operation

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization exclusively operates in the state of Mississippi offering therapeutic foster care for children.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 74% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53%; rating input score 53
  • Program expense ratio: 59.5%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.9%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.27; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 53% of revenue deployed · 59.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $439K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.