Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311126185
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Columbus, OH, USA
Phone
6142636020
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,655,619
Expenses
$5,310,280
Assets
$3,369,341
Liabilities
$275,040

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KARI JONES (PRESIDENT &)
  • TROY HUNTER (PRESIDENT &)

Highest reported compensation

  • CAREY EASH (VP): $131,856 total reported compensation
  • KARI JONES (PRESIDENT &): $123,447 total reported compensation
  • TROY HUNTER (PRESIDENT &): $54,669 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 the down syndrome association of central Ohio is to support families, promote community involvement and encourage a lifetime of opportunities for people with down syndrome.

What it reported doing in 2025

The down syndrome association of central Ohio is the leading source of information, support, and referral assistance to over 5,000 members throughout 23 counties in central Ohio. Our services can be divided into three core areas: support for individuals with down syndrome, their families, and community professionals who work with them. Services for individuals include scholarships that promote community engagement, summer learning academy, and ican bike camp. Families benefit from first connect, dsaco's parent mentoring program, as well as community resource groups, workshops and social events. Community professionals are provided education and medical materials through dsaco's ds medical edge program that directly impacts quality of healthcare as well as educational resources for inclusion best-practices. Dsaco also provides legislative advocacy and works to strengthen laws that protect the disability community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 69% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

SUPPORTED - 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: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 87.6%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.1%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.63; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.8%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.7% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.1% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.7% of revenue deployed · 87.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $132K · 19 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.