National Alliance For Accessible Golf

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
300130896
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA
Phone
5617098002
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$53,961
Expenses
$110,878
Assets
$72,483
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MELISSA LOW (President)
  • DANA DEMPSEY (Vice President)
  • DAVE BARTON (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVE BARTON (Executive Director): $50,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of the Alliance is to increase participation of individuals with disabilities in the game of golf. We accomplish this by educating the golf industry, including golf course owners and operators, as well as therapeutic organizations and program leaders on the Americans with Disabilities Act and the game of golf. The organization does this through the delivery of on-demand education through our Alliance Education Hub and in-person education at industry association conferences. The organization advocates for individuals with disabilities through this education, publications and interviews and the development of free resources for use by the golf industry.We also provide GAIN - the Golf Access and Inclusion Network as a free networking platform for those looking to play the game and experts around the country who support adaptive golf through coaching or other means, and launched the Adaptive Golf Hall of Fame to promote public awareness.

What it reported doing in 2025

Established in 2001 as an advocacy, education and resource center, and evolving in 2010 as a modest grant provider for programs that support our mission though generous support from the United States Golf Association and other leading golf industry organizations. The Alliance continues to evolve with efforts primarily focused now on the enhanced delivery of education through the Alliance Education Hub and advocacy to drive broader awareness of the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the creation of environments that foster inclusion.Our GAIN platform - the Golf Access and Inclusion Network, a free community networking and engagement forum designed to connect the paths that lead to access, inclusion and welcoming environments that facilitate entry and participation in the game of golf. This leads to their engagement in the social fabric of the community and the health and wellness benefits golf brings to their quality of life.We also create and distribute a monthly magazine for the adaptive golf community and golf industry, Golf Inclusion Monthly and host a free database of Adaptive Golf Cars, Programs and Facilities around the country to help golfers identify places to learn and play.The Alliance also established the Adaptive Golf Hall of Fame in December, 2025 as a public awareness platform for the adaptive golf community and the golf industry.Grants are envisioned as a part of our future identity on some scale, but the industry has evolved with much more financing and grants available to programs around the country than when the Alliance was first established.Normally, we will offer a grant application window once per year. Grants are reviewed by the Executive Director and presented to a Grant Review Committee composed of Alliance Board Members for review and, where appropriate, approval.We aspire to support programs with elements that include growth potential and have sustainment plans from local or regional organizations. We are also interested in programs that focus on inclusive programs that lead to golf involving individuals with, and without disabilities.Our priority now is advocacy and education on a National scale as one of the few, if any, golf organizations in the country solely focused on education and advocacy involving individuals with disabilities. Other organizations in this space typically generate funds strictly for the execution of competitions and/or programs. We aspire to support these efforts on a National Scale.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 79.2%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: -105.5%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.65; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 45.1%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.1% per year; rating input score 0; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -15.9% per year; rating input score 0; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -7.6% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 79.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $88K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $50K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 19 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.