Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 311496646
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Phoenix, AZ, USA
- Phone
- 6023408717
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Medical Research N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $26,697,989
- Expenses
- $23,515,216
- Assets
- $40,554,100
- Liabilities
- $4,158,849
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
29 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DANIEL OPENDEN (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- DANIEL OPENDEN (PRESIDENT & CEO): $429,163 total reported compensation
- CHRISTOPHER SMITH (CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER): $228,951 total reported compensation
- BRIAN SHAW (VP OF FINANCE): $218,723 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 southwest autism research & resource center (sarrc) is a nonprofit, community-based organization dedicated to autism research, education and outreach for individuals with autism and their families.
What it reported doing in 2025
Clinical services: following a family-centered approach, sarrc is focused on assisting families on their journey once a child is diagnosed with asd (autism spectrum disorder). Sarrc's clinical model is grounded in applied behavior analysis with a particular focus on naturalistic behavioral interventions in inclusive environments (e.g.at home, in school, on the job and in the community). Each of our programs, classes and trainings are guided by best-practice models; the most current available science; improving quality of life and producing meaningful outcomes; and the individualized needs of the children, teens, adults and families we serve. In 2025, sarrc provided nearly 155,000 clinical intervention hours supporting nearly 830 individuals with autism and their families.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 70% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 61
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 54
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 64%; rating input score 64
- Program expense ratio: 73.7%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- 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: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 11.9%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.72; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 64% of revenue deployed · 73.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $17.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $429K · 29 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $752K reported
- Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.