Japan America Society of Colorado

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841125146
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
(303) 592-5364
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Promotion of International Understanding

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$326,000
Expenses
$312,987
Assets
$391,406
Liabilities
$4,648

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Claudine Locascio (Executive Director)
  • Richard K Clark (Senior Vice President)
  • Derek Okubo (President)
  • Inta Morris (Past-President)
  • Stephanie Garnica (Executive Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Claudine Locascio (Executive Director): $91,264 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of Japan America Society of Colorado is to expand people-to-people relationships between Colorado and Japan by serving as a bridge to connect via business, education, and cultural opportunities.

What it reported doing in 2024

The JASC Annual Gala in 2024 had a theme of "Whisky & Wagyu", focusing on the various agricultural connections between Colorado and Japan. Speakers included representatives from the U.S. Meat Export Federation, local whisky distillers who work with all Colorado farms for their ingredients, and a small local Japanese distiller who does the same in Japan. The audience of international business and education leaders learned about this very important connection between our two communities and also had networking opportunities with both Japanese and Colorado corporate representatives.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.3%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 61.6%; rating input score 62
  • Fundraising efficiency: $26.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

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: 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.25; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.2%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 11 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 60.3% of revenue deployed · 61.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 27 of 27 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $193K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $91K · 27 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.