Aspiration Aspirationtechorg

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
912106274
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4158396456
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Management & Technical Assistance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,569,627
Expenses
$9,764,603
Assets
$9,773,621
Liabilities
$561,334

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Sarah West (Managing Director): $261,700 total reported compensation
  • Allen Gunn (Executive Dir.): $235,500 total reported compensation
  • Geoffrey MacDougall (Senior Advisor): $208,167 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To train charitable nonprofits in how to select and use technology in sustainable ways that increase impact; to design and run highly collaborative nonprofit technology events, focused on knowledge sharing and development of peer support networks; and to provide advice, strategy support, tools, and resources to charitable projects and foundations to help them achieve their missions of delivering high-impact technology that can meet the needs of those working for a better world.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, our Strategic Event Services Program facilitated 30 in-person and virtual events and gatherings around the world. These events addressed a wide variety of nonprofit technology issues that affect human rights workers, environmental organizations, internet freedom, and grassroots organizations. Thousands of nonprofit staff, activists, and students representing hundreds of organizations benefited from our interactive, inclusive event format at these gatherings.Our leadership programs in fundraising and digital rights continued to support and mentor emerging nonprofit leaders, helping them to develop strategy and resources to advance their missions. Our Strategic Consulting Program supported and advised nonprofit staff, executives and boards on a variety of technology and strategy issues, including pro bono services for underserved organizations.Our fiscal sponsorship program supported a range of mission-driven technology projects.In November, we also held our 22nd annual Nonprofit Software Development Summit in Oakland, California.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 61
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.4%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 86.6%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $278.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 50%; rating input score 50; 17th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 22.3%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.6%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.4% of revenue deployed · 86.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $262K · 13 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $858K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 34 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 19 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.