Tailwinds Academy of Aviation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
932010057
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, US
Phone
(215) 677-1240
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Vocational, Technical Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$807,164
Expenses
$1,007,964
Assets
$278,546
Liabilities
$491,677

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HOWARD COOPER (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • BRIANA FLEMING (SECRETARY/DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $60,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To advance aviation education through a safety-first, mentorship-driven approach that cultivates skilled, confident pilots.

What it reported doing in 2024

The academy provided career-oriented flight training to underserved and underprivileged students and adults in the school district of philadelphia. The services included: - offering comprehensive, no-cost flight training to eligible philadelphia students. - removal of financial barriers to aviation careers for underserved youth. - partnering with local schools to introduce students to aviation opportunities. - investing in equipment and resources that directly benefit our community's aspiring pilots.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% 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.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.2%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • 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; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 81.8%; rating input score 82; 18th 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: -24.9%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.77; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 94% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 91.1% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 200% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 97.2% of revenue deployed · 77.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $784K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.