Nashville Dolphins

What it reported doing in 2024

The future dolphins, our largest program, provides one-on-one learn-to-swim lessons and water safety to 227 children and adults with intellectual disabilities each semester at no cost to any participant. Drowning is the number one cause of accidental death in people with special needs. Autistic people are 160 times more likely to drown than their neuro-typical peers. The nashville dolphins aims to reduce this tragic statistic by teaching water safety awareness skills to all enrolled participants at no cost. Additionally, having water safety and swimming skills allows the participants to enjoy the many benefits of water recreation and fitness within a safer environment. People with disabilities need individualized instruction and attention in the pool which we provide, and each lesson is customized to each swimmer's needs and abilities. All our lead instructors are certified as "swim whisperers" with swim angelfish, the global leader in adaptive swim instruction. Every instructor has now taken the 16+ hour online course to add to their knowledge of adaptive swimming. Our lead instructors are also certified in starfish aquatic institute which is a nationally and internationally recognized swim instruction certification program.before each session begins, parents of children new to the program fill out a detailed questionnaire about their child's needs, likes, abilities, behavior, etc. So that our instructors and volunteers can plan how to work best with their swimmer. Swimmers are evaluated at the beginning, middle, and end of each session to track the progression of skills. We are also using a digital swim lesson management app that allows instructors to track progress with swim skill benchmarks pre-built into the app. Children are paired with the same volunteers and instructors each week within our future dolphin program. There is no limit to the number of lessons a child can receive in this program as all our swimmers learn at different levels and speeds. Although not all participants can become independent swimmers due to more severe disabilities, they all experience the joy in the freedom of movement and the increased range of motion provided by the buoyancy of water. In addition, the nashville dolphins social programs provide valuable social skill developmental opportunities. The family members also benefit from the support and understanding of other families experiencing similar challenges related to living with special needs individuals.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 47.7%; rating input score 48
• Program expense ratio: 74%; rating input score 74
• Fundraising efficiency: $16.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd 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: 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 41.3%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.26; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 35%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings