Scottsdale Leadership Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
860822647
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Phone
4806276710
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$446,992
Expenses
$459,601
Assets
$226,613
Liabilities
$23,794

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LEE ANN WITT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • JOANNA PEYTON (PRESIDENT)
  • MERLE RIEPE (PRESIDENT ELECT)
  • MICHAEL WILLS (PAST PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LEE ANN WITT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $104,602 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Leadership development training for current and emerging community leaders, including seminars, workshops, and field trips conducted in the city of scottsdale Arizona.

What it reported doing in 2024

In may 2025, class 39 graduated 48 participants who completed the core program, including five community-based service projects through the project lead it forward plif initiative. These projects, conducted from january through april outside of classroom hours, focused on youth-serving organizations and generated measurable community impact. Class members contributed 3,313 volunteer hours, raised 140,000 in direct funding, and secured 106,000 in in-kind donations, collectively benefiting approximately 2,550 youth in scottsdale. Beneficiary organizations included desert stages youth theatre, happily ever after league h.e.a.l., homeless engagement lift partnership help, miracle league of Arizona, and the scottsdale police departments pals police and local students program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.9%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 80.5%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 94.8%; rating input score 95; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -2.8%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.8%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.4% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.9% of revenue deployed · 80.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $370K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $105K · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.