Denise Amber Lee Foundation Inc

What it reported doing in 2025

The Denise Amber Lee Foundation was borne out of a tragic breakdown of the 9-1-1 system in which a young wife and mother of two needlessly lost her life. the daylong abduction, rape and murder of Denise Lee exposed numerous inefficiencies in a system that all citizens rely on in their time of need. In an age of consumer technology that allows us to track and pinpoint locations with GPS on our phones, five calls to 9-1-1 that day, including a six (6) minute call from Denise herself, resulted in no location information to send a response. It is as if this reality of 9-1-1 not being able to pinpoint a location is a secret that the 9-1-1 industry doesnt want to publicize. The Denise Amber Lee Foundation is chartered with raising public awareness of this issue as well as the fact that in most locations and states around the country training is not required to be a 9-1-1 call taker or dispatcher; that the majority of 9-1-1 centers have no quality assurance practices in place for ongoing monitoring of call handeling and customer service. Most states require dog groomers to be trained and pass state exams for certification but the person taking a screaming mothers call for help needs no certification nor training. The Denise Amber Lee Foundation has recruited like-minded, passionate trainers from the 9-1-1 community to reach out to our nations 9-1-1 centers and perform full day presentations on the details of our tragedy and inspire them to not make these same mistakes. These sessions are having a powerful impact on those that attend. We are constantly receiving critiques and testimonials from attendees like this; Thank you for putting on the most profound class I have ever attended. It really motivated us to improve our training program. Thank you again for all the work you are doing to help our industry improve, Thank you for reminding me how important my job can be and how complacency can cost lives, your talk was truly inspirational. I will carry it with me for the rest of my life, and in turn hopefully ensure that I am never guilty of this. Your journey with and without Denise is an incredible one. God Bless and, This class should be required training for every dispatcher What an eye opener and very informative the Denise Amber Lee Foundation is also initiating a Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement Consulting Service to help public safety agencies install quality assurance practices in their day to day operations to reduce the indicence of human error. Oddly, the 9-1-1 industry is one of the last in this country to embrace quality assurance principals and it is arguable the most important life-saving industry. An Internal Affairs Investigation is NOT a quality assurance program. With the support of the donor community, we will continue to tell our painful story that is having a major impact on how 9-1-1 calls are handeled nationwide. 9-1-1 is a universal number for help that demands a universal level of response no matter where you are having an emergency.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 80.9%; rating input score 81
• Program expense ratio: 82.7%; rating input score 83
• Fundraising efficiency: $9.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Limited
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 26th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Fail
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 2.1%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.29; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.22; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 18.5%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 16.5% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 15.5% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 15.8% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings