Spokane Area Business Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911896341
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Spokane, WA, USA
Phone
5096241393
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community, Neighborhood Development

Reported finances

Revenue
$79,356
Expenses
$276,588
Assets
$1,179,208
Liabilities
$84,187

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Alisha Benson (CEO & Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Alisha Benson (CEO & Director): $254,684 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The purpose of the Spokane Area Business Foundation is to advance the quality of life in the greater Spokane region by building support for programs that strengthen education, develop civic leadership, support cultural diversity, improve economic and community research, and build civic capital.

What it reported doing in 2024

Believe Spokane is a five-year campaign to increase economic vitality with a focus on economic development and talent attraction and retention focused on growth, equity, and agility.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 76% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 65% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 48
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 91.5%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 91.2%; rating input score 91; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -248.5%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.26; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.9%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -8.3% per year; rating input score 0; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 91.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 0 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $253K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $255K · 6 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 18 of 19 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.