Knowautism Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
462573522
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Phone
8328346437
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Voluntary Health Associations & Medical Disciplines N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$514,418
Expenses
$247,107
Assets
$1,023,989
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

People named in this filing

  • MICHELLE BOHREER JD (CHAIRPERSON)
  • CHRIS CARDENAS (GRANTS CHAIR)
  • SHERRI ZUCKER (VICE CHAIR/DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to promote autism awareness and to help children and adults affected by autism by providing education and resources.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community partnerships program - the purpose of this program is to support other organizations with programming for special needs children in the community to further our mission.the special interest fund was established to help children with autism access adaptive and inclusive programs and services that do not fall under the umbrella of traditional autism treatments or interventions. Awards range from $500 to $2,000 per child. Eligible programs include specialized camps, music therapy, art therapy, yoga therapy, therapeutic horseback riding, adaptive swim lessons, and similar programming. This fund may also be used to cover fees for the services of autism/disability advocates (up to $1,000).art program focuses on providing children an outlet to express themselves. We provide art kits to our grant recipients, students from schools, and other organizations, to children interested in participating in our art festival. The submissions are featured in our annual as i am art festival. Autism diagnostic assistance program provides financial assistance to families to help subsidize the cost of diagnostic testing for children between the ages of 12 months and 14 years of age.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 78% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 88
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 36.8%; rating input score 37
  • Program expense ratio: 69.9%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98.7%; rating input score 99; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 52%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.14; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.8% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.1% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 36.8% of revenue deployed · 69.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $173K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 24 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 37/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.