Down Syndrome Assn of Central Texas

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
742577312
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
5123230808
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$386,663
Expenses
$485,501
Assets
$520,265
Liabilities
$10,730

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Connolly Lees (President)
  • Victoria Gonzalez (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Connolly Lees (President)
  • Victoria Gonzalez (Vice President)
  • Nicholas Carlin (Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of the down syndrome association of central Texas (dsact)is to provide education, support, and resources to individuals with down syndrome, their families, professionals, and the community while building public awareness and acceptance of those with down syndrome.

What it reported doing in 2025

Dsact's social programs encourage and enable families with children and adults with down syndrome to connect, learn, and play. From the time of diagnosis to the day a family loses a loved one with down syndrome, dsact fosters social networking through in vivo and online communities.dsact's new parent program matches parents who receive a diagnosis of down syndrome with a trained parent liaison who has a young child with down syndrome. These parents offer valuable practical and emotional support from the time of diagnosis, whether prenatal or postnatal, along with a welcome package full of local and national resources and fun baby items to celebrate and welcome the new family member. Additionally, a new parent support group led by a licensed professional counselor has been added to provide professional guidance and emotional support to families at the beginning of their journey.in addition to member-wide events, including annual gatherings like the dsact buddy walk and world down syndrome day (3/21), dsact has age-specific groups for babies, toddlers, youth, teens, and adults. These groups meet once per month in the community for an age-appropriate activity to promote social inclusion, new friendships, and the opportunity for parents and family members to give and get support when needed.for adult members, dsact has also introduced a service and social club, which provides leadership opportunities and encourages giving back to the broader austin community through meaningful service projects such as wrapping presents, volunteering at a food bank, and trail cleanups.dsact's social programs are offered at no cost to dsact member families. Online facebook groups allow families a safe space to connect and share resources and support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 87% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.3%; rating input score 99
  • Program expense ratio: 78.7%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -25.6%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.07; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99.3% of revenue deployed · 78.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $382K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.