Skilled Trades of West Alabama

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
844668815
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
Phone
2057526332
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Job Training

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,223,153
Expenses
$1,131,363
Assets
$466,837
Liabilities
$201,606

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GARY PHILLIPS (PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • RICK SHEFFIELD (DIRECTOR): $2,935 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 skilled trades of west Alabama is to build a highly skilled, qualified, and prepared workforce for the construction industry in west Alabama. Skilled trades of west Alabama is changing lives. Through its mission, the organization offers opportunities for apprenticeships and training in the construction trades. With a high demand for and shortage of skilled, ready-to-work employees and tradesmen, opportunities exist now to build high-paying, successful careers. Skilled trades of west Alabama is a registered apprenticeship program through the Alabama office of apprenticeships and is a funding partner of the Alabama construction crafts training board.

What it reported doing in 2025

Workforce development is implemented through on-the-job training coupled with class and hands-on instruction aligned with industry standards.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 78% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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.

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: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 44
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.2%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 97.6%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 18th 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: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.5%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.41; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.3%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 27% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.4% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.2% of revenue deployed · 97.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $3K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 57/100.