The SAFE Alliance
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 742320657
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Austin, TX, US
- Phone
- 512.369.5900
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $31,944,560
- Expenses
- $32,130,358
- Assets
- $12,319,231
- Liabilities
- $2,289,343
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
38 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JULIA SPANN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
- LESLEY VARGHESE (PRESIDENT & CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- JULIA SPANN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $207,351 total reported compensation
- LESLEY VARGHESE (PRESIDENT & CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER): $186,703 total reported compensation
- SAMANTHA WEINMEISTER (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $154,028 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 SAFE Alliance exists to stop abuse for everyone by serving the survivors of child abuse, sexual assault and exploitation, and domestic violence. We are dedicated to ending violence through prevention, advocacy, and comprehensive services for individuals, families, and communities.
What it reported doing in 2024
Client services - including emergency shelter, supportive housing, transitional housing, supervised independent living, counseling, children's services, legal and other advocacy services, foster care and adoption placements, charter school and prevention services for victims of child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault.
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 81% 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
STRONG - 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: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 80
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 31
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 81.9%; rating input score 82
- Program expense ratio: 81.3%; rating input score 81
- Fundraising efficiency: $18.18 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: -0.6%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.38; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.6%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 14.6% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -2.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 81.9% of revenue deployed · 81.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 30 of 30 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $26.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $207K · 38 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $805K reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 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: 10 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.