Asah - Serving the Private Special Education Community Since 1974 Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222127488
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Hamilton Square, NJ, USA
Phone
6098901400
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,375,180
Expenses
$1,386,269
Assets
$1,426,285
Liabilities
$256,744

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRIAN DETLEFSEN (PRESIDENT)
  • RACHEL TAIT (FIRST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KENNETH ALTER (SECOND VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JOHN MULHOLLAND JR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN MULHOLLAND JR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $221,613 total reported compensation
  • SUSAN RECCE (ASSISTANT DIRECTOR): $128,670 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Asah is a not-for-profit organization of New Jersey state-approved specialized schools serving over 10,000 students with severe complex disabilities. Asah provides information, referrals, and advocacy; produces publications; conducts an annual ouctomes analsyis and other studies to ensure quality of services; hosts an annual conference; and offers a free speakers bureau to parent groups.

What it reported doing in 2024

Asah annually awards the connections for success scholarships. The goal of the connections for success scholarship is to provide financial support and recognition of students with disabilities graduating from an asah member school as they pursue post-secondary training, education, or other opportunities. The scholarship criteria encourage continuing education and training, increased independence and goal setting, and promote community integration and the use of local resources and supports. The awarding of these scholarship provides direct financial support to youth with disabilities so that they may pursue post-secondary education, training, or other career or life-enhancing opportunities; encourages students and their families to identify local, community-based supports to help foster the success of the student beyond graduation; assist students with disabilities leaving asah schools to be able to pursue opportunities in the least restrictive setting; and encourages goal setting and planning for the future.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 97% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 78
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.3%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 81%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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; 76th 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: 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: -0.8%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.03; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 25.3%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.3% of revenue deployed · 81% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $222K · 24 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.