The ASK Academy

Legal name: Ask Academy Education Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
274508062
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Rio Rancho, NM, USA
Phone
5058910757
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,012,783
Expenses
$843,457
Assets
$14,877,907
Liabilities
$14,916,085

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PEPPER POOLE (PRESIDENT/DIR. (THROUGH JUNE 2025))

Highest reported compensation

  • KIMBERLY AYRES (SCHOOL STAFF REPRESENTATIVE): $135,493 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The ASK Academy Education Foundation exists to support The ASK Academy, a STEM-focused public charter school that prepares scholars for college and career success through project-based learning and a supportive community.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation issued bonds/loans for the purchase of the school's facility.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 95% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 57
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.5%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 98.6%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 16.7%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 17.64; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.3%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 32.4% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 78.5% of revenue deployed · 98.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $831K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $135K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.