Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581585337
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
4043203233
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$319,008
Expenses
$353,147
Assets
$241,966
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RAVEN SLADE (Vice President)
  • LINDSEY LUBEL (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • SHERYL ARNO (Executive Dir.): $74,520 total reported compensation
  • DENISE ARRIBAS (ENGAGEMENT DIR): $43,320 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 DSAA is to guide Atlanta's down syndrome community by connecting families and self-advocates to the partners, programs, education and resources they need to thrive.

What it reported doing in 2025

BLACK FAMILY CONNECTION ENABLES BLACK FAMILIES OF LOVED ONES WITH DOWN SYNDROME AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET AND CONNECT WITH OTHER BLACK FAMILIES TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LIFE IN THE DOWN SYNDROME COMMUNITY AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER.Hispanic Family Connection enables Hispanic families of loved ones with down syndrome an opportunity to meet and connect with other Hispanic families to learn more about life in the down syndrome community and support each other. CAMP BRIGHTSIDE IS A WEEK LONG SLEEP AWAY SUMMER CAMP FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DOWN SYNDROME BETWEEN THE AGES OF 15 AND 21.Keep the Lights on - Helps support families with a loved one with Down Syndrome financially for basic needs of food, power, water, and housing. There is a limit of $250 per person per year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 89% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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

SUPPORTED - 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: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.8%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 74.8%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.88 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 24th 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.7%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.69; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 33.4%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.8% of revenue deployed · 74.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $264K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $75K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.