Mile High United Way

Legal name: Mile High United Way Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
840404235
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Denver, CO, US
Phone
(303) 561-2300
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Federated Giving Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$43,438,168
Expenses
$43,084,034
Assets
$80,192,324
Liabilities
$18,807,680

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

Leadership & pay

56 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRISTINE BENERO (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRISTINE BENERO (CEO): $452,125 total reported compensation
  • JAMES TREICHLER (COO): $197,624 total reported compensation
  • VANECIA KERR (CIO): $183,780 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Uniting people, ideas and resources to advance the common good.

What it reported doing in 2024

Mile high united way distributed 22.8 million to the community through community partnership & impact investments grants. Grants were awarded to nonprofit agencies that provide services in four interconnected initiatives: giving all children a strong start, reading matters, developing tomorrow's talent, and creating economic opportunity for all. The initiatives are aimed to ensure all children are ready for school and reading at grade level or beyond by the end of third grade. Developing tomorrow's talent strives to ensure all youth graduate from high school and are ready to transition to college, advanced training, or the workplace. Creating economic opportunity is focused on ensuring all individuals and families are afforded the opportunity to move toward economic success. In partnership with the city and county of denver, (arpa bio fund) 0.6 million of grants supported over 40 small businesses to help them realize their growth potential. In collaboration with the state of Colorado (opportunity now Colorado grant program) which focuses on innovative solutions to meet Colorado's workforce needs has supported 57 grantees for a total of 18.9 million.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 71% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 99
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.2%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 91.2%; rating input score 91; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 98%; rating input score 98; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.86; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.6%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 90.2% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 49 of 50 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $37.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $452K · 56 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 321 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 313 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.