Suazo Business Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 043693364
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2009
- Location
- Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Phone
- 8015211709
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Ethnic, Immigrant Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,705,273
- Expenses
- $1,529,015
- Assets
- $1,781,590
- Liabilities
- $136,982
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SILVIA CASTRO (PRESIDENT &)
Highest reported compensation
- SILVIA CASTRO (PRESIDENT &): $198,995 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 suazo business center is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to focus on the economic empowerment of the minority community through entrepreneurship. We work to end cycles of poverty, eliminate generational wealth gaps, and build self-reliance through small business ownership. We are a small business and workforce development education resource committed to the development and empowerment of the latino / hispanic, and other underserved, communities. We support existing and new minority entrepreneurs and small business owners in becoming self-reliant and building wealth.
What it reported doing in 2024
In fiscal year 2025, suazo business center continued to drive inclusive economic growth for utahs underserved entrepreneurs. Building on our cdfi certification, we expanded access to capital and delivered bilingual training that equips clients to launch, sustain, and grow their businesses. Suazo served 920 unduplicated clients, launched 246 new businesses, created or retained 1,091 jobs, and delivered 2,361 business advising sessions. 95% of participants were low-to-moderate income and 99% identified as minorities. Our work continues to level the playing field, strengthening family livelihoods and advancing economic equity across utahs diverse communities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 68
- Transparency & Controls: 67
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 52
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 69%; rating input score 69
- Program expense ratio: 76.7%; rating input score 77
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 71.2%; rating input score 71; 32nd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: 10.3%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.17; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 15.8% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 69% of revenue deployed · 76.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $199K · 16 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 33/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.