Aspen Community Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
840829226
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Basalt, CO, USA
Phone
(970) 925-9300
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$20,874,440
Expenses
$22,587,202
Assets
$62,335,898
Liabilities
$4,728,355

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ERICA SNOW (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERICA SNOW (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $269,529 total reported compensation
  • KORTNEY HARTMAN (FINANCE DIRECTOR): $168,598 total reported compensation
  • VALERIE CARLIN (CHIEF IMPACT OFFICER): $164,256 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Aspen Community Foundation (ACF) invests in a future where everyone from Aspen to Parachute has equitable opportunities to thrive.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, the foundation provided grantmaking in three areas; 1. The foundation's unrestricted grantmaking for essential services by nonprofits in the foundation's service area, funded by an annual fundraising drive. 2. Donor advised fund grantmaking is supported from over 100 donor advised fund, meeting the philanthropic goals of the foundation's donors. 3. Designated and scholarship funds provide grants for specified purposes identified by the fund's design and administered by the foundation. Additionally, the foundation stood up its community leadership program, which is designed to ensure our region's opportunities area accessible to all by connecting leaders and catalyzing progress. This included the inaugural nonprofit center for excellence, which provided an immersive, 5-day academy focusing on strengthening local nonprofit organizations by building capacity and helping to ensure their sustainability.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 91% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 95
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 95.7%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: $29.88 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 89.5%; rating input score 89; 3rd 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: 89.3%; rating input score 89; 20th 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -8.2%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.76; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 95.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $21.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $270K · 23 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 35 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 470 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 465 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.