Ares Charitable Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
843666714
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
4242852736
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,896,261
Expenses
$13,286,086
Assets
$1,420,029
Liabilities
$2,980,485

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL AROUGHETI (PRESIDENT)
  • MICHELLE ARMSTRONG (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • MICHAEL AROUGHETI (PRESIDENT)
  • GREGORY MARGOLIES (TREASURER)
  • MICHAEL D WEINER (SECRETARY)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The general purposes for which the corporation is formed are: (a) to engage in charitable activities consistent with the philanthropic objectives of ares management and its founders and employees, with a focus on education, health care, environmental and social concerns; (b) to solicit, receive, and accept donations, gifts, bequests, grants, income and other things of value; (c) to engage in grant-making to unrelated organizations and institutions for charitable purposes with a focus on education, health care, environmental and social concerns; and (d) to engage, whether alone or in conjunction with others, directly or indirectly, in any other lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the dgcl, and by virtue of such statement all lawful acts and activities shall be within the purposes of the corporation, except for express limitations, if any.

What it reported doing in 2024

We envision a world in which equitable access to knowledge, resources, and opportunities enables people to achieve their full potential. The ares charitable foundation strives to accelerate equality of economic opportunity through grants that provide career preparation and reskilling, encourage entrepreneurship, and support climate-resilient jobs. Our strategic grantmaking helps address critical societal issues to make a measurable, meaningful, and sustained difference. Our partnerships with some of the world's leading nonprofits strive to help close the widening wealth gap a disparity that often threatens basic human dignity and survival. Our 2024 grant-making programs included the following grants and initiatives: alt finance corporation. Investing in black futures. This initiative is designed to diversify the alternative investment industry by attracting, training, and providing career opportunities for college students attending historically black colleges and universities. The initiative has three primary components: (1) a mentored followship program; (2) a tailored virtual institute, and (3) a scholarship program. During 2024, a total of 133 college students participated in this u.s. Based program

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 91% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.1%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 93.2%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Pass
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.4%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.11; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 2.1; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 36.9% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 35.2% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.1% of revenue deployed · 93.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $12.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 11 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.

  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.