Argonaut

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
450833007
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2016, Form 990-N 2013
Location
Cleveland, OH, USA
Phone
2168604883
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Search and Rescue Squads

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,225,104
Expenses
$1,493,171
Assets
$779,480
Liabilities
$1,026,294

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ERIC PEACE (PRESIDENT)
  • JOCELYN HARRISON (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID FERGUSON (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANNEMARIE GRASSI AMEFIA (FORMER COO): $239,288 total reported compensation
  • DAVID FERGUSON (CEO): $109,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Argonaut provides educational support and professional training services in the fields of aerospace and maritime. Our primary focus is our davis aerospace and maritime high school. Argonaut leverages our position a professional resource in the aerospace and maritime sectors to support and promote our students as they progress on their journey.

What it reported doing in 2024

Argonaut continues to expand and improve our programming at our davis aerospace and maritime high school. Students and staff continue to receive significant support from argonaut team in the development and execution of academic and career technical programs. Argonaut continues work with the port of cleveland managing and operating the flotsam and jetsam debris harvesting and waterway management vessels. Our other port of cleveland supported program, phastar marine safety continues to provide safety services on local waterways and is expanding into professional water rescue training for students and first responders. These programs generate non-traditional revenue for a non-profit and are modeling our intentions to expand these types of academically based enterprise. We continue to increase our student enrollment and career path opportunities.

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 84.1%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -21.9%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.52; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.32; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21.6% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.4% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 84.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $239K · 14 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.