Aya Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 852802236
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2020
- Location
- Denver, CO, USA
- Phone
- 7208533445
- Rating
- 68
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Urban, Community Economic Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $522,887
- Expenses
- $782,909
- Assets
- $991,515
- Liabilities
- $60,974
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- BENILDA SAMUELS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- BENILDA SAMUELS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $183,425 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To lead an economic revolution by supporting members of the black community build their wealth through access to education, training, networks, and funding.
What it reported doing in 2024
Aya programs: aya foundation supports entrepreneurs through a series of programs aimed at increasing their business success and strengthening their entrepreneurial journey. Our programs support small business owners with technical assistance, social capital and foundational training. In 2024 we supported 207 entrepreneurs. We served 48 aspiring and current business owners in jumpstart my business, 27 with one-to-one peer business coaching, 20 with bookkeeping support and coaching, 9 with credit repair support, and 105 for who we made connections. In total, we provided 835 touchpoints for Colorado small business owners.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 72% for direct work, and 28% for grants.
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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 68
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 23
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 85.2%; rating input score 85
- Program expense ratio: 56.9%; rating input score 57
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.12 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- 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: 99.3%; rating input score 99; 49th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- 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: -49.7%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.27; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 23.4%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -57.8% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -55.3% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 85.2% of revenue deployed · 56.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $445K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $183K · 8 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 7 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.