Sahara Programs

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
933887758
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Chandler, AZ, USA
Phone
4806006676
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Support N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,010,022
Expenses
$835,715
Assets
$604,156
Liabilities
$278,598

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SALINA IMAM (CEO AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SALINA IMAM (CEO AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $82,658 total reported compensation
  • FAZAL MUMTAZ (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $43,492 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Providing healthcare, education, life skills training, and domestic violence support to underserved

What it reported doing in 2025

Safe Haven Program During Fiscal Year 2025, Sahara Programs Safe Haven Program provided emergency shelter and comprehensive support to 164 survivors of domestic violence, including 103 adults and 61 children. The program provided 5,760 nights of emergency shelter, served 8,640 meals, developed 39 individualized safety plans, and delivered 1,053 case management sessions. As a result, 38 participants secured permanent housing, 207 obtained employment or job support, 6 accessed educational opportunities, and 27 were connected to long-term support services, helping survivors achieve greater safety, stability, and independence.

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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.3%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 81.4%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $124.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: 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: 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: 17.3%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.46; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.1%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 121.9% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 114% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 85.4% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.3% of revenue deployed · 81.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $800K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $83K · 15 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.