The Challenge Foundation
Legal name: The Challenge Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 841480014
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Englewood, CO, USA
- Phone
- 3032093364
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,612,896
- Expenses
- $1,974,034
- Assets
- $5,434,171
- Liabilities
- $24,521
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- GENE MYERS (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- MARY ELLEN DALTON (BOARD MEMBER)
- GENE MYERS (PRESIDENT)
- ERIN VERNERIS (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 challenge foundation empowers students to reach their full potential through academic scholarships and comprehensive support, bridging the gap to an extraordinary education and lifelong success.
What it reported doing in 2024
Tutoring, mentoring and advising: the challenge foundation matches students with a volunteer mentor who partners with the family and the staff to provide on-going support, encouragement and meaningful educational experiences. The mentor is a professional in our community who is trained to serve as a role model and team member in the scholars' educational journey. Tutoring is offered and accessed as needed at every level of the scholars' experience, from 6th grade through college, including act/sat prep. All of these supports are managed by a challenge advisor on staff who helps students overcome obstacles in their personal and academic lives. Advisors attend teacher conferences, obtain computers, school supplies, athletic equipment, musical instruments and counsel them throughout the college and financial aid application process.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 68% for direct work, and 32% for grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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: 93
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 43
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90.4%; rating input score 90
- Program expense ratio: 95.4%; rating input score 95
- Fundraising efficiency: $4,576.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
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: 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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: -22.4%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.75; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.8% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -8.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 90.4% of revenue deployed · 95.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.