Gateway to Independence
Legal name: Gate-gateway to Independence
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 861084910
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2025
- Official website data refreshed
- Jul 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022
- Location
- Maryville, TN, US
- Phone
- 865.317.4283
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Developmentally Disabled Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $289,957
- Expenses
- $213,638
- Assets
- $585,166
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JONAH JACKSON (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- JONAH JACKSON (PRESIDENT)
- JODIE RUD (VICE-PRESIDE)
- JODIE DESMOND (SECRETARY)
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
To help young adults with disabilities achieve independence by providing social activities and pre-vocational training.
What it reported doing in 2025
The gate- gateway to independence assists young adults with severe disabilities to achieve independence by providing them with social and pre-vocational activities. Participants enter the program between the ages of 22-30 but may remain in the program as long as they wish . The participants come together several days each week with staff and volunteers from the community to enjoy each others company and to use skills that foster independence. The focus of the program is on each individuals abilities and on developing a community of people who appreciate and care about each other. Just as important, the gate provides a respite service to the family/caretaker who is able to leave the participant with us knowing that they are in a safe and nurturing environment. For many families, this is the only respite they have. Without this program , most of these young adults face a life of isolation and exclusion. The gate is a model of what an inclusive community can be. The program is funded through donations, special events and grants. The programs serve 78 participants which provides a respite for 145 family members/caretakers. There were 78 volunteers, including college, high school and middle school students, groups from local businesses and community members who helped with the program.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 63% 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.
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 some filed totals do not add up.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 85
- Accountability: 64
- Sustainability: 73
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 71.1%; rating input score 71
- Program expense ratio: 94%; rating input score 94
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 15th 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: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 26.3%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.74; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 18.5% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 71.1% of revenue deployed · 94% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $201K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.