Ascend Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942923077
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2012
Forms available
Form 990 2012
Location
Holladay, UT, USA
Phone
8014780059
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
International Relief

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,302,008
Expenses
$2,590,199
Assets
$263,245
Liabilities
$96,147

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2012. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2012. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

"lift others..lift yourself" ascend lifts families in need, strengthens participants, and supports partnering organizations through exceptional service expeditions and internships.

What it reported doing in 2012

Ascend partners with other non-profit organizations, corporations, groups, communities and governments. Our approach is to collaborate rather than compete..an important way we are different ascend helps strengthen partnering organizations, teams, communities and individuals. Our service- learning programs are life changing for participants, globally and locally. Organization revenues and program expenses do not include the value of donated services and the facilities to carry out the organization's programs. These donated services and facilities were estimated to be worth 602,933 in 2012.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 51
  • Accountability: 67
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 87%; rating input score 87; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -12.5%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.1; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.37; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.4%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -6.9% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -53.9% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 20 of 23 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 30 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2011 to 2012
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.

Key Signals

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

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.