The Audacity Lab

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
931840116
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
7209363730
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Reported finances

Revenue
$333,714
Expenses
$338,842
Assets
$30,030
Liabilities
$6,823

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

Leadership & pay

2 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Steven Dobo (Director)
  • Tamra Arp (Director)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Audacity Lab believes in empowering local communities from around the world to determine the problems the community wants to solve and then provide trainings for local community participants to become adept at the use of the innovative concepts, frameworks, tools, ways of thinking and approaches needed to solve the wicked problems of the world.Thus, once the local community, working with The Audacity Lab, researchers, and scholars, develops and determines a model to solve the community's challenges, The Audacity Lab will fundraise and provide funding directly to such community, typically through local nonprofit organizations or NGOs, to implement the model.

What it reported doing in 2025

Up with Africa is a program that addresses issues of education in the developing world, the conservation of endangered species, refugees and the forced mass migration of people. The program's working with partner organizations to carry out this mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda within Central and East Africa.

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 91% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.7%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 82.4%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.5%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.09; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 94.3% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 83.4% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 76.9% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.7% of revenue deployed · 82.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 2 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $279K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 2 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.