Paragon Service Dogs

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
840779444
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Longmont, CO, USA
Phone
3032873277
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Deaf/Hearing Impaired Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,351,430
Expenses
$1,225,671
Assets
$2,304,690
Liabilities
$545,041

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • CAROL HEIDEN (EXECUTIVE DI): $130,291 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Paragon service dogs's (psd's) mission is to empower d/deaf and hard of hearing individuals by purposefully training specially selected dogs to alert to sounds, carefully matching these dogs with d/deaf and hard of hearing handlers and supporting the paired teams throughout a lifetime of the match.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization operates the following major programs: dog training program - intentionally designed and extensively focused sound and behavior training for dogs. Client training program - comprehensive training of the d/deaf or hard of hearing handler. Volunteer program - volunteers play an essential role in the success of the organization. The organization offers a wide variety of volunteer opportunities for teenagers to retirees. See schedule o

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% 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

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 liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.2%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 83.6%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $23.3 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd 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: 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.3%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.88; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.6%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.2% of revenue deployed · 83.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $130K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.