Highland Council for the Deaf
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 751768781
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022
- Location
- Big Spring, TX, USA
- Phone
- 4322676779
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Deaf/Hearing Impaired Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $379,349
- Expenses
- $344,740
- Assets
- $54,484
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JEFF ANDERSON (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- JEFF ANDERSON (PRESIDENT)
- DALE KESTERSON (SECRETARY)
- CHENG TAN (FINANCIAL AG)
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
Communication access services are provided throughout 30 counties of west Texas. Qualified, effective (trained/certified) interpreters are placed according to need and assist the provider in ensuring communication is clear and concise as mandated by the americans with disabilities act. Education/advocacy with providers and deaf consumers about communication access regarding culture, language, and local/state/federal mandates (i.e. Ada, 504 rehab act, idea, etc.) are essential.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 76% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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
STRONG - 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 84
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 64
- Sustainability: 46
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90.9%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: Limited
- 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: 9.1%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.16; rating input score 10; 10th 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: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 19.4% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 90.9% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $345K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
- Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.