Ignite Nebraska

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
922262463
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Omaha, NE, USA
Phone
3032637037
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Employment Procurement Assistance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$907,618
Expenses
$668,996
Assets
$701,407
Liabilities
$26,137

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

Leadership & pay

2 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kellee Miklus (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Kellee Miklus (Executive Director): $182,000 total reported compensation
  • Shannon Melton (Chief Operating Officer): $135,200 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Ignite Nebraksa is a workforce development program that partners with educational institutions, community/state partners and company partners toprovide paid apprenticeship opportunities in a high-demand, high-paying, high-skilled (H3) careers for participants who successfully complete the program.

What it reported doing in 2025

Ignite Navigator Program - At Ignite Nebraska, our mission is to transform the community's talent landscape by providing case management and support to participants transitioning into full-time careers, preventing the negative impacts of the benefits cliff. Through customized on-the-job training and in-the-classroom education, Ignite participants are able to upskill over the course of the 24-week journey with the promise of a full-time position in a high-wage, high-skilled, highdemand career. The Navigator program enhances this journey by offering additional support and resources, ensuring the program's effectiveness, and removing barriers to success.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 40
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 37.8%; rating input score 38
  • Program expense ratio: 50.6%; rating input score 51
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 26.3%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.05; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 47.4%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 70.9% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 51.3% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 49.4% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 37.8% of revenue deployed · 50.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $338K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $182K · 2 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 34 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 38/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 51/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Fund balance restriction sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D land buildings reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.