The Way

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364899108
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018
Location
Evergreen, CO, USA
Phone
3035627948
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Reported finances

Revenue
$561,797
Expenses
$477,041
Assets
$287,138
Liabilities
$15,104

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JEFF SPADAFORA (CHAIRMAN): $143,004 total reported compensation
  • JON SBOROV (DIRECTOR): $99,140 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Helping men move from frustration and fear to clarity and courage in every dimension of their lives.

What it reported doing in 2024

Discipleship and life coaching is the core of what we do at the way. As the men grow in compassion they serve others as evidenced by several hundred hours of voluntary service provided supporting the poorest of the poor and sharing how much we love them, how much god loves them, and how jesus bridges all humans back into ahealthy relationship with god once again. 80% of our 152 members are on full scholarship. Several men have left the business world and redirected their energies toward full time work with non-profits. We have broadened the age and socioeconomic range of the men we serve from age 18-69 including young men who grew up in environments of fatherless ness and drugs as well as ceos, firefighters, car salesmen, lawyers, doctors, service workers, and pastors.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 78
  • Accountability: 55
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.8%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 96.9%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 53.4%; rating input score 53; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15.1%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.6; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 50.8%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.5% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.8% of revenue deployed · 96.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $462K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $143K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.