The Space Idaho Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 843348548
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2019
- Location
- Hailey, ID, USA
- Phone
- 2084503750
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $908,108
- Expenses
- $953,664
- Assets
- $621,667
- Liabilities
- $435,469
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Regan Nelson (Board Chair/President)
- Aaron Bronson (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Aaron Bronson (Executive Director): $101,162 total reported compensation
- Bailee Ancona (Business Operations Coordinator): $39,152 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 Space is the community hub where skilled educators deliver personalized tutoring and innovative after-school and summer educational programming so Wood River Valley teens of all backgrounds are empowered with the skills and confidence to succeed.
What it reported doing in 2024
The Space's six-week summer programs provide middle school age students 30 hours per week of hands-on learning, enrichment, and community-based activities. In 2025, 161 students participated. Middle school programming is offered at no cost. The summer program emphasizes experiential learning, creativity, and exploration, providing a flexible alternative to traditional classroom instruction. Students participated in a variety of engaging programs, including the Bilingual Scholars Program, STEAM enrichment, pickleball, cooking club, and a range of field trips. Summer programming prioritizes accessibility, ensuring opportunities are available for students who may face financial or experiential barriers to typical summer activities.In the 6-9th grade Bilingual Scholars Program, 20 emerging bilingual students strengthened English reading, writing, and speaking skills. Through partnerships with local organizations, more than 73 students participated in additional enrichment activities, including off-site cooking club, pickleball, and field trips.Additionally, the summer program for high school age students provides personalized tutoring, test prep, college counseling or preparation for GED completion. The high school programs use a sliding fee scale to reduce financial barriers. 36 high school age students prepared for post-graduation success through college application support, test preparation, and GED completion for nontraditional pathways.
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 100% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 69
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 24
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 75.3%; rating input score 75
- Program expense ratio: 71.6%; rating input score 72
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -5%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.65; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.7; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14.7%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 34.4% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 29.5% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 37.9% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 75.3% of revenue deployed · 71.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $682K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $101K · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 26/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.