Passback
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 932313909
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2024
- Location
- St Louis, MO, USA
- Phone
- 3147958321
- Rating
- 72
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Recycling Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $416,150
- Expenses
- $222,448
- Assets
- $308,585
- Liabilities
- $10,283
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MAGDALEN SPARROW (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/FOUNDER)
- MASON MORGAN (BOARD PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MAGDALEN SPARROW (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/FOUNDER): $11,500 total reported compensation
- HAYDEN SPARROW (CFO): $4,200 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Passback upcycles team sports gear, so every kid can play. Our vision is to create a circular economy for sports gear and textile, accomplished through our primary programs: community development, sustainability, and education & advocacy.
What it reported doing in 2025
EDUCATION & ADVOCACY: Aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13, Climate Action, Passback's Education & Advocacy program raises awareness of the environmental and social impacts of sports consumption and promotes responsible practices among athletes, families, schools, sports organizations, businesses, and community members. The program educates stakeholders about resource efficiency, reuse, waste reduction, sustainable disposal, and the connection between sports consumption and broader environmental challenges, while highlighting the disproportionate effects of environmental and climate-related challenges on underserved communities. During the year, Passback engaged and educated thousands of people through local and international community outreach, educational initiatives, partnerships, and advocacy activities. Passback also participated in research and collaborative sustainability initiatives intended to increase understanding of the lifecycle impacts of sports gear and identify opportunities for broader systems change. Through these activities, Passback encourages individuals and organizations to make more sustainable choices and supports collective action toward a healthier and more equitable future.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 94% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 55
- Transparency & Controls: 89
- Accountability: 83
- Sustainability: 64
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 47.2%; rating input score 47
- Program expense ratio: 87.9%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.3%; rating input score 99; 61st 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; 25th 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: 46.5%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.39; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.1%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 88.7% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 92.5% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 47.2% of revenue deployed · 87.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $195K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $12K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 41 of 42 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 4 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 47/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.