Mission Aviation Training Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911932500
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2011
Location
Arlington, WA, USA
Phone
4252315855
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Vocational, Technical Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,110,073
Expenses
$1,068,089
Assets
$2,265,517
Liabilities
$5,878

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dary Finck (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Dary Finck (Executive Director): $53,744 total reported compensation
  • Gary Elliott (Secretary): $13,498 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To develop, train, and equip pilots for missionary service in remote parts of the world; to encourage and serve missionaries and Bible camps.

What it reported doing in 2024

Flight training developed, trained and equipped 15 students who are preparing for serving in Christian ministry-- often in remote areas around the world. Summer Camp served 18 campers to introduce them to missionary aviation. MATA's advanced Alaska summer and winter training served 6 students, 2 camps, 8 villages and 120 campers where there are no roads between villages and limited access to remote areas. Without aviation transportation, local Alaskan camp attendees would not be able to attend camp. The Alaska trips also allowed MATA staff to serve several other mission agencies with aircraft maintenance help, speaking, and encouragement. We also sent 2 staff members to a mission in Papua New Guinea to assist with aircraft maintenance. We were the county collection site for the Operation Christmas Child ministry. We helped position equipment to remote ministries. We hosted about 100 kids to introduce them to STEM programs. We also introduced over 200 people to mission aviation at our tri-annual Mission Aviation Awareness Day

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 89% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.1%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 83.8%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.93 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.8%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.12; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.3%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.1% of revenue deployed · 83.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $895K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $54K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.