Tobacco- Free Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
810691684
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone
6513790196
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Smoking Addiction

Reported finances

Revenue
$248,217
Expenses
$238,285
Assets
$90,859
Liabilities
$12,770

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ELYSE LEVINE LESS (EXECUTIVE DI): $97,735 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To prevent youth from using commercial tobacco and to prioritize communities adversely affected by industry marketing and health disparities.

What it reported doing in 2025

Environmental harms of e-cigarettes projects: tfa has two projects that focuse on the environmental harms of e-cigarette waste. One project is conducted in dakota county and the other project is conducted in hennepin county. We created a youth group of project area teens to first identify the local environmental impact of e-cigarettes/vaping devices. We use the data collected to inform the development of community-based policy, systems, and environmental (pse) strategies to expand commercial tobacco- free environments, reduce youth e-cigarette initiation, and contribute to sustainable pse change within the project areas. (75% dakota on 071 and 25% hennepin on 074)

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 98% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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.

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: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.38; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 41%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $238K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $98K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.