Soaring Flight Education Association
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 872898752
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2021–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2020
- Location
- St Paul, MN, USA
- Phone
- 7154480547
- Rating
- 45
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $22,556
- Expenses
- $17,383
- Assets
- $53,280
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Stephen Nesser (President)
People named in this filing
- Stephen Nesser (President)
- Roy Forsstrom (Treasurer)
- Leon Zeug (Secretary)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Soaring Flight Education Association (SFEA) provides funding to teens and adults between the ages of 14 and 24 to further their education and interest in aviation. The SFEA funds initial glider flight training, solo flights, advanced glider training along with associated examinations and flight tests.
What it reported doing in 2024
During the fiscal year ending 8/31/2024, the SFEA purchased and installed an advanced Glider Flight Simulator consisting of cockpit seating and controls, three video monitors, a gaming computer and Condor Glider Flight Simulator Software. In the first season the simulator was used for training specific, repeatable flight scenarios. Flight instructors considered it an excellent device to continue flight training during inclement weather. We provided financial and mentor support to seven youth for their flight training. Three of the young people accomplished their first solo, flying the aircraft with no one else in the plane. This is a major flight training accomplishment and a memorable life experience for them.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
The verdict
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 0
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 72
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
- Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 22.9%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.07; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -40% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -5.2% per year; rating input score 0; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 18.8% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 4 filed program accomplishments
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
- Consistency: 8 of 9 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part III transfer expenses within program total did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.