Azura Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

Azura Literacy strives to prevent poverty through literacy. Arizona ranks 47th in the nation for education and 74% of the states Fourth Graders are not proficient in reading, disproportionately affecting students in foster care and in low-income homes. Students who are not reading proficiently by the 4th grade are 4 times less likely to graduate from high school, putting them at higher risk for poverty, poor health, and incarceration. Children struggling with reading need one-on-one support to help them succeed. By partnering with community volunteers, university internships, and work-study programs, as well as ASUs America Reads Program, we can provide free, high-impact, one-on-one tutoring in reading, utilizing a virtual platform to elementary students in low-income and foster families throughout the state of Arizona. Evidence-based assessments and strategies are used to provide personalized, human-centered, engaging tutoring sessions, helping each student become a confident, successful reader. Our innovative virtual model removes the transportation and schedule barriers that many students in low-income and foster families face, providing quality support to students at home where parents can be involved in their childs reading development. Our partners help remove the technology barrier for families, and our increasing recruitment of bilingual tutors ensures anyone can access our program. With support from the Nina Mason Pulliam Foundation, the ASU America Reads Program, Kids Need to Read, Compudopt, Mesa Public Schools, Tempe Elementary District, Kingman Area Literacy Program, Bisbee Rotary Club, Read On Arizona/Read on Mesa, Mesa Community College, University of Advancing Technology, Department of Child Safety and the Gila Bend Unified School District, not only have we provided 1452 hours of tutoring to 113 elementary students this year, weve served 200 elementary students with free books to build their home libraries. In the coming year, we expect to increase the number of students served by 121%.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 86.5%; rating input score 87
• Program expense ratio: 70.6%; rating input score 71
• Fundraising efficiency: $5.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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: 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: -20.1%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.29; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 20.3%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -114.4% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings