Autism Advocates
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 881782922
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2023–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2025
- Location
- Memphis, TN, USA
- Phone
- 9019009078
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Health
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,629
- Expenses
- $141,546
- Assets
- $66,268
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Alecia Coleman (Executive Director,Treasurer,CEO)
- Nakia Coleman (President,Media Manager)
People named in this filing
- Alecia Coleman (Executive Director,Treasurer,CEO)
- Nakia Coleman (President,Media Manager)
- Nicholas Coleman (Secretary)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Autism Advocates mission is to provide community safety and resources for children, families and individuals impacted by Autism. To create Autism awareness, understanding and inclusion, while promoting the standard of all ability equality. To represent through information and services, that all people of all abilities are of equal value. And to unconditionally embrace and support our differences.
What it reported doing in 2025
AQUATISM PROGRAM, which represents Aquatic Safety and Autism, adaptive swim certified instructors and provided free water safety lessons to Autism families. To combat the leading cause of death for autistic children, who are 160 times as likely to die of drowning than their neurotypical peers. Autism Advocates has partnered with YMCA to offer this life saving resource to children with autism and their families. Aquatism is an adaptive water safety initiative designed specifically for individuals on the autism spectrum. Autism Advocates mission is to create a national standard for inclusive aquatic safety and accessibility, one that embraces neurodiversity and ensures that every child, regardless of ability, has the tools and support they need to be safe and confident around water. Adaptive supports are personalized strategies, tools, or environmental changes that help individuals with autism learn and succeed. In the water, this might include visual cues, sensory-friendly environments, communication aids, one-on-one instruction, or modified techniques tailored to a child's specific needs. By combining evidence-based practices, adaptive teaching strategies, and community collaboration, Aquatism aims to make pools, beaches, and aquatic spaces safer, more accessible, and more inclusive for all.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Investment-supported. 65% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
- 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. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Sustainability: 17
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 40.6%; rating input score 41
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -2,957.8%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 57.8%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -11.5% per year; rating input score 0; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -31.3% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -20.2% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 40.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 4 filed program accomplishments · $58K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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: Program expense ratio scored 41/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.