La Crosse Promise Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
455610547
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
La Crosse, WI, USA
Phone
6087892049
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Reported finances

Revenue
$301,715
Expenses
$282,450
Assets
$2,211,040
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MAC KIEL (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMANDA ACKLIN (EXECUTIVE DI): $90,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

La crosse promise is a catalyst for community vitality through educational success. La crosse promise is a non-profit organization working to economically transform la crosse, Wisconsin, and improve the quality of life for all citizens through a strong commitment to education.

What it reported doing in 2025

La crosse promise future centers provide a focal point in our high schools where students and their families can have immediate access to post high school preparation and planning resources. A professional advisor is available to serve students in identifying their career goals and completing the application materials and financial aid forms to pursue their post high school plans. Office hours are scheduled so that students and their families can access these services both during and outside of the regular school day. The future centers exist to support students in making career choices that fit their interests and abilities while meeting the needs of today's job market. Finding the resources necessary to acquire the certification or degree to achieve your career goals is also an important service provided by the future center advisor. Raising the amount of scholarship dollars awarded to our students is an important future center goal. Through this effort, higher education becomes a reality for many more of our high school graduates.

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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.8%; rating input score 99
  • Program expense ratio: 66.2%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.4%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.83; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.9%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.6% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -9.7% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 98.8% of revenue deployed · 66.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $187K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $90K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.