Straight Ahead Organization
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 853392795
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Phone
- 4126517485
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $804,701
- Expenses
- $610,655
- Assets
- $735,167
- Liabilities
- $47,001
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ROBERT HOLBROOK (PRESIDENT/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
People named in this filing
- BRET GROTE (BOARD MEMBER)
- ROBERT HOLBROOK (PRESIDENT/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- ASHLEY JIMENEZ (TREASURER/BOARD MEMBER)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The purposes for which the corporation is organized are to promote social welfare within the meaning of section 501(c)(4) of the internal revenue code, including but not limited to: (1) developing and advocating for legislation, regulations, and government programs that are steps towards the abolition of racism and (2) conducting research and publicizing the positions of elected officials concerning these issues.
What it reported doing in 2024
The straight ahead organization (formed on october 9, 2020) is a Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation that will be undertaking a statewide campaign to pass legislation that will offer parole opportunities for more than 1,100 people serving life-without-parole (lwop) sentences for felony murder convictions, and for the 10,000 elderly incarcerated people serving long or life sentences that will likely end with their death in prison without parole reform. This program will allow us to pass legislation that will contribute substantially toward shifting the criminal justice system in Pennsylvania from a punitive to a restorative paradigm, by: 1) introducing legislation and keeping a permantent presence in the state capitol of harrisburg; 2) creating a statewide strategic communications campaign that will change the narrative around lwop, long-term incarceration, violent offenses, and parole eligibility; and 3) organizing impacted communities and allied organizations across the state to train them as advocates and build legislative support, with an emphasis on directly impacted people, progressive organizations, faith groups, and activists across the state to change narratives around crime, violence, and incarceration.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 59
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 67
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 52.9%; rating input score 53
- Program expense ratio: 69.7%; rating input score 70
- Fundraising efficiency: $18.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 24.1%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.2; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 26.2% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -32.8% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -29.9% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 52.9% of revenue deployed · 69.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $425K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.