Step One Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
582675854
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Prescott Valley, AZ, USA
Phone
9287724184
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Improvement, Capacity Building N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,613,742
Expenses
$2,260,797
Assets
$1,659,061
Liabilities
$13,357

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ALEXIS MILLER (VP OF OUTREACHDIRECTOR): $68,596 total reported compensation
  • DENISE MERRITT (VP OF HRSECRETARY): $68,566 total reported compensation
  • ALVA Y SANCHEZ (VP OF OPERATIONSTREASURER): $68,543 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

See sched o

What it reported doing in 2025

Employment enhancement opportunities program in 2025 provided paid employment training & placement services to 3 women in our local domestic violence/sexual assault advocacy programs & 10 community re-entry workers recently out of prison or drug/alcohol rehab needing transitional employment while preparing for community employment integration. Retail sales/pos systems, computer publishing, & library science are just a few of the employment training opportunities this program offers. Of those 13 people, 0 secured employment, 4 are still in the paid training program (2024 carryover) & 9 relocated out of the area or we have no info from after they completed their eeop program. Over 234 hours of personal growth & development training were provided & paid for through this program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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. 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: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 61
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 96.7%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.5%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.73; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.1%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 96.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 10 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $69K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.