Autism Empowerment
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 452455219
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Vancouver, WA, USA
- Phone
- 3606014678
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Health
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $241,596
- Expenses
- $294,392
- Assets
- $63,454
- Liabilities
- $15,168
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Karen Krejcha (President and Executive Director)
- Paul Pitsenbarger (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Shasti McLaughlin (Board Member): $2,000 total reported compensation
- Anson Service (Board Member): $1,200 total reported compensation
- Tanya English (Board Member): $450 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Autism Empowerment is a nonprofit 501c3 organization devoted to enriching and empowering the lives of youth adults and families within autistic and neurodivergent communities. We promote a culture of Autism Acceptance and Empowerment and believe that each one of us has giftings and strengths to make the world a better place.
What it reported doing in 2025
Spectrum Life Magazine is a print and digital publication created by and for autistic neurodivergent and disability communities. Each issue delves into Advocacy Lifespan Recreation Education Health Wellness and Therapy over an average of 56 pages featuring 12-16 articles. Additional written audio and video content can be found on www.SpectrumLife. org and www.AutismEmpowerment. org. The quarterly print edition reaches 40,000 readers in the Northwest through 762 locations with national and international subscriptions available. All magazine editions are freely downloadable. Supplementary materials include blog posts extended interviews the Autism Empowerment Podcast educational videos a disability resource directory and other valuable resources for individuals of all abilities in neurodiverse and neurodivergent communities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 93% 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.
- 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 15
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 87.9%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: -21.9%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.22; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.2%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 18.2% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -5.5% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $259K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $2K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.