Arizona Council on Economic Educat

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
860896574
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phone
4803688020
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$858,999
Expenses
$850,132
Assets
$1,497,090
Liabilities
$60,567

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELENA ZEE (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELENA ZEE (PRESIDENT): $181,360 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To reach and teach every Arizona student to become financially and economically responsible in work and life.

What it reported doing in 2025

In partnership with our dedicated educators, volunteers, and supporters, in 2025, ACEE provided professional development and curriculum support to 2,108 K-12 teachers, reaching 273,461 socioeconomically diverse students across 552 public, charter, tribal, home, private, and juvenile detention schools statewide. Notably, sixty-seven percent of these students were from low to moderate income families, representing 66 cities and towns in all 15 Arizona counties, with 27% residing in rural communities. ACEEs innovative programs such as EconReads, Financial Fitness in Action, Money Minutes, The Stock Market Game, Building Young Entrepreneurs, and $martPath continue to bring economics to life in classrooms across the state. These initiatives empower teachers and help students connect real-world scenarios with classroom learning. As a leading organization in economic education professional development, ACEE provides educators statewide with valuable opportunities to connect, exchange best practices, and explore innovative teaching methods. Our success is made possible by the generosity of 315 individual and corporate donors and 931 volunteers. Your support has been instrumental in building a stronger future workforce for Arizona and ensuring long-term sustainability. Together, we are paving the way for a brighter tomorrow.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.1%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 83.4%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: 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: 1%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.76; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.3%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.1% of revenue deployed · 83.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $709K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $181K · 21 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.