Level Ground Mixed Martial Arts Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
463915852
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2016
Location
Dorchester, MA, USA
Phone
6175143753
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Amateur Sports

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$961,004
Expenses
$866,981
Assets
$863,197
Liabilities
$245,226

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALEXANDRA FULLER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALEXANDRA FULLER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $167,831 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Provide athletic, academic & career services to youth: athletic training, college access, student trainer certification, workforce development/employment referral.

What it reported doing in 2024

Founded in 2013, level ground empowers urban youth through athletics, academics, and employment opportunities. We use martial arts as a vehicle to create positive, supportive relationships with our students as well as teaching key values such as persistence and determination. Our youth-managed training center in dorchester includes two athletic areas for martial arts, yoga, and personal training, and an academic and career development center. The majority of our staff are the youth we serve. These student trainers are responsible for all aspects of gym management, operations, administration, and serve as personal trainers and martial arts instructors. See schedule o for additional description.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% 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

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: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 88.6%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $31.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.8%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.4%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24.5% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 24.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.4% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.9% of revenue deployed · 88.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $768K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $168K · 8 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.