Athlete Ally Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
275527156
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2011
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
6463890225
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,012,323
Expenses
$1,781,124
Assets
$1,058,375
Liabilities
$38,010

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • HERBERT HUDSON TAYLOR IV (CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIR): $210,044 total reported compensation
  • JORDYN LEXTON (DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT): $155,982 total reported compensation
  • ANNA BAETH (DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH): $144,116 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 help every athlete act as an ally and ensure every lgbtqia+ person is welcome and safe in sports.

What it reported doing in 2025

Athlete activism summit: athlete ally brings together college athletes, administrators, coaches, and staff from across the country to build community, gain knowledge, and commit to actions to help expand lgbtqi+ inclusion and allyship on their campuses. During the summit, top members of the athletic community, students, and activists share information and workshops and breakout sessions.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.3%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 69.2%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 11.5%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.59; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 35%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.3% of revenue deployed · 69.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $210K · 21 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $141K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.