Balon USA

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
831843874
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Lakewood, CO, USA
Phone
7204226064
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Soccer

Reported finances

Revenue
$382,777
Expenses
$366,848
Assets
$202,263
Liabilities
$2,922

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GERMAN ZARATE-BOHORQUEZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • SHARI CRIST (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • GERMAN ZARATE-BOHORQUEZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $72,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of balon USA is to provide high-quality, low-cost, after-school soccer opportunities for students.

What it reported doing in 2025

Balon USA provided 8 weeks of soccer programming to 1,462 students during the spring and fall seasons. Teams of 3rd-5th grade children, each with 12-18 members, practiced soccer after school twice a week and played games on saturdays. There were 48 teams in spring and 44 teams in fall serving 1,462 students total. Balon USA served 60 students in thornton with 4 weeks futsal soccer during winter. Futsal is played on an indoor basketball court with a special ball. 248 parents participated in one of our 8 social emotional workshops in fall titled positive play: tips for supporting your child in youth sports. 125 players participated in one of 4 spring workshops called the power of teamwork. All workshops were presented by local psychologists and social workers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% 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

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 84.6%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 4.2%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.55; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.6%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 32.8% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 36.7% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81% of revenue deployed · 84.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $310K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $72K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.