Xel Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
874143271
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone
9374492825
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Autism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$661,720
Expenses
$50,099
Assets
$611,621
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELISA KRAKOWSKI (PRESIDENT/CHAIR/DIR)

People named in this filing

  • ELISA KRAKOWSKI (PRESIDENT/CHAIR/DIR)
  • BRIAN GOLDEN (TREASURER/DIRECTOR)
  • AMY STARLING (SECRETARY/DIRECTOR)

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 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

XEL Foundation was founded to support the health and well-being of people affected by autism through innovative, impactful research and education. XEL is an advocate for autism research directed at ending the increasing rates of those affected and providing those already affected with autism an inclusive opportunity for a fulfilling life. We support the research community by providing funding for autism research through our annual grant program.

What it reported doing in 2022

The organization is formed exclusively to provide research and provide financial support to 501(c)(3) organizations for selected projects which involve one or more of the following objectives: (i) treatment and educational protocols to help persons with autism develop their life management skills, (ii) assistance to help friends, family members, co-workers, and others more effectively communicate and associate with persons with autism, (iii) understanding the causes and differentiation of specific (continued on schedule o)

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 38
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 95
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 7.6%; rating input score 8
  • Program expense ratio: 99.8%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 11th 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: 92.4%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 12.21; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 7.6% of revenue deployed · 99.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $50K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 14 of 15 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 1 filing year from 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.