Ascent 121 Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461577827
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Carmel, IN, USA
Phone
3177590067
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Victims' Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,608,510
Expenses
$1,409,954
Assets
$1,838,305
Liabilities
$171,230

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MEGAN MCGUIRE (CEO)
  • LOUISE LOMBARD (BOARD PRESIDENT)
  • ELYAS MUSLEH (BOARD VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MEGAN MCGUIRE (CEO): $126,643 total reported compensation
  • MEGAN JESSUP (COO): $102,837 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The primary purpose of the agency shall be i) to provide financial and other assistance for the health, educational, psychological, emotional and welfare needs of individuals in crisis situations, with an emphasis on those who have been involved in human trafficking, ii) to provide financial and other assistance for the welfare needs of individuals who have been in the legal system, iii) to provide financial and other assistance to other tax exempt organizations that are serving populations of human trafficking, poverty, social disenfranchisement, illiteracy and food insecurity, iv) to assist, enable and facilitate tax exempt organizations with similar missions, v) to empower volunteers and donors to share resources for the charitable, educational, and scientific purposes of the agency.

What it reported doing in 2025

Survivor services: ascent 121 provides mental health and other recovery services for Indiana teen survivors of human trafficking. We offer options including diagnostic & evaluation services, mental health and family preservation services, case management services for survivors and their families. Referrals come from the Indiana department of child services as well as other sources. The agency serves over 100 children annually. Ascent 121 is accredited by the evangelical council for financial accountability (ecfa), the Indiana behavioral health and human services board, and was the winner of the fbi director's community leadership award for exemplary service to the community.community education: ascent 121 raises awareness in the community through approximately 75 public events each year at schools, churches, civic organizations and businesses.discipleship: optional discipleship is offered for the youth in our programs.consulting services: ascent 121 provides training and support for other agencies and individuals working with survivors of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.

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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.7%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 78.5%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.3%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.3; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.3%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.3% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.7% of revenue deployed · 78.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $127K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.