The Autism Community in Action
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 270048002
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Irvine, CA, USA
- Phone
- 9496404401
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Health
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,515,704
- Expenses
- $2,393,615
- Assets
- $1,767,216
- Liabilities
- $878,738
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- LISA ACKERMAN (SECRETARY/EXECUTIVE DIRECT): $159,815 total reported compensation
- CAROLYN BAKER (DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR): $136,401 total reported compensation
- JOAN M BAEK (PROGRAM DIRECTOR): $112,645 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Provides education, support and hope to families living with autism.
What it reported doing in 2025
Family support - support structures include a private facebook group with more than 29,000 members, where experienced autism parents provide guidance, answer questions, and facilitate monitored support to families in need. Taca's community leaders provide local supports for families to navigate regional systems and supports for autism. Support also includes family events and family programming that is inclusive and safe. Our mentor program connects families navigating the autism journey with experienced parent mentors who offer one-on-one guidance, support, and lived experience. Taca's national team oversees the training, development, and management of the critical volunteers who deliver support.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 89% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 92% 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
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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 65
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 31
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 70.3%; rating input score 70
- Program expense ratio: 72.8%; rating input score 73
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.43 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 84.6%; rating input score 85; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 4.9%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.74; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.5; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 17.1%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 70.3% of revenue deployed · 72.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $160K · 15 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.