ACEING AUTISM INC
Connecting kids through tennis
ACEING AUTISM INC
EIN: 26-2688140
as of September 2023
as of September 18, 2023
Mission
Our mission is to connect children with autism through unique tennis programs, and to develop and advance proven methods to positively impact the children, families and communities we serve.
Ruling year
2008
Executive Director & Founder
Mr. Richard Spurling
Main address
2001 S. Barrington Ave. Suite 207
Los Angeles, CA 90025 USA
EIN
26-2688140
Brain and nervous system disorders
Community recreation
Racquet sports
Autism
Population served
Children and youth
People with disabilities
NTEE code
Autism (G84)
Brain Disorders (G48)
Physical Fitness/Community Recreational Facilities (N30)
IRS subsection
501(c)(3) Public Charity
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Tax forms
Communication
Programs and results
Reports and documents
Download annual reportsWhat we aim to solve
19% of children with autism spectrum disorder are obese, with an additional 36% who are at risk for becoming obese. Children with ASD often experience more difficulty with balance, coordination, flexibility, and motor skills, which often correlates to a decrease in physical activities in comparison to their peers without ASD. In addition to these developmental challenges, children with ASD simply do not have access to a wide variety of affordable recreational sports programs that are specifically designed and adapted with children with autism in mind. ACEing Autism tennis programs address these two critical areas, while also providing a supportive, fun environment for families and siblings to enjoy an activity together.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
ACEing Autism Tennis Program- California
The ACEing Autism Tennis Program is open to children ages 5-18 with autism spectrum disorder or similar diagnosis. Children participate in 6-8 week tennis sessions, where they are paired with at least one, trained youth volunteer to participate in a series of drills and exercises designed to enhance motor development and social skills while learning the sport of tennis. Each location offers a minimum of 2, 6 week sessions per year at a low cost. Scholarships are available.
ACEing Autism Tennis Program- Texas
The ACEing Autism Tennis Program is open to children ages 5-18 with autism spectrum disorder or similar diagnosis. Children participate in 6-8 week tennis sessions, where they are paired with at least one, trained youth volunteer to participate in a series of drills and exercises designed to enhance motor development and social skills while learning the sport of tennis. Each location offers a minimum of 2, 6 week sessions per year at a low cost. Scholarships are available.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of program sites
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of new programs/program sites
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People with other disabilities, Preteens, Children, Adolescents
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This is only decreased due to COVID. We expect this number to hold continue increasing annually.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
ACEing Autism's goals are to provide a recreational tennis program where children with autism learn the game of tennis while working on social skills. Because children with autism require structure and routine, we have created a curriculum whereby children become familiar with the routine and flow of the class. We ensure that children have at least one volunteer coach engaging with them for the entire lesson, guaranteeing plenty of social engagement. Our goals are to give children with autism basic tennis skills so that they can play the sport with friends and their families.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our organization's success is contingent on our ability to recruit, train, and retain quality youth volunteers, who are paired with each child with autism who participates in our tennis program. We also work closely with local autism organizations, schools, and state agencies to promote our programs to children and families affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and to recruit program volunteers.
Our curriculum is specifically tailored to children with ASD with a wide variety of abilities. Our lessons incorporate teaching aides such as visual schedules and a structured curriculum so children with ASD become familiar with the routines and activities while learning the game of tennis.
With at least one trained volunteer partnered with each child, our organization can guarantee that there is a level of personal engagement between the volunteer and participant- and that there is someone providing one on one support and social interaction- including making eye contact, and back and forth communication. In addition to one-on-one social connections, our clinics engage children with ASD in group games and activities that are designed to promote interpersonal engagement and cooperation. This assists with fostering trust and developing social connections and friendships, which can be difficult without intervention.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
ACEing Autism partners with autism researchers and ABA therapists to continuously evaluate and evolve our curriculum and volunteer training to meet the needs of the growing population and communities we serve. Our programs are designed in a manner that fosters exercise, social interaction, and fun, while learning the game of tennis.
ACEing Autism continues to partner with local organizations that serve the ASD population to promote our services, and connect and collaborate with members of the ASD community.
Our organization is steadily working towards our goal of serving 2000 children with ASD by 2020. Our program is scale-able, with the ability to launch a new program site within 4-6 months, and serve a minimum of 20 children per site.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Our program outcomes to date have only included parent and volunteer testimonials. We recently obtained funding to partner with the UCLA center for autism research to do an in-depth study about the impact of our programs on children with autism.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome
Financials
Financial documents
Download audited financialsRevenue vs. expenses: breakdown
Liquidity in 2022 info
30.76
Months of cash in 2022 info
22.4
Fringe rate in 2022 info
11%
Funding sources info
Assets & liabilities info
Financial data
ACEING AUTISM INC
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
Fiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
This snapshot of ACEING AUTISM INC’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.
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Business model indicators
| Profitability info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation | $616,512 | $351,986 | $262,206 | $335,716 | $84,027 |
| As % of expenses | 90.4% | 38.9% | 28.7% | 41.2% | 6.5% |
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation | $616,512 | $350,913 | $259,303 | $332,617 | $79,554 |
| As % of expenses | 90.4% | 38.7% | 28.3% | 40.7% | 6.2% |
| Revenue composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) | $1,297,260 | $1,257,078 | $1,174,357 | $1,150,399 | $1,367,299 |
| Total revenue, % change over prior year | 98.9% | -3.1% | -6.6% | -2.0% | 18.9% |
| Program services revenue | 6.3% | 7.5% | 5.0% | 4.2% | 9.4% |
| Membership dues | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Investment income | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Government grants | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 6.5% |
| All other grants and contributions | 93.7% | 92.4% | 94.7% | 95.8% | 83.6% |
| Other revenue | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| Expense composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses before depreciation | $681,686 | $905,092 | $912,151 | $814,683 | $1,283,623 |
| Total expenses, % change over prior year | 27.2% | 32.8% | 0.8% | -10.7% | 57.6% |
| Personnel | 53.4% | 55.9% | 55.4% | 55.6% | 50.3% |
| Professional fees | 8.9% | 11.5% | 13.4% | 23.0% | 16.1% |
| Occupancy | 3.2% | 4.6% | 4.7% | 5.4% | 3.5% |
| Interest | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Pass-through | 3.8% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.8% |
| All other expenses | 30.7% | 28.0% | 26.5% | 16.0% | 29.3% |
| Full cost components (estimated) info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses (after depreciation) | $681,686 | $906,165 | $915,054 | $817,782 | $1,288,096 |
| One month of savings | $56,807 | $75,424 | $76,013 | $67,890 | $106,969 |
| Debt principal payment | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed asset additions | $0 | $3,863 | $11,237 | $0 | $31,502 |
| Total full costs (estimated) | $738,493 | $985,452 | $1,002,304 | $885,672 | $1,426,567 |
Capital structure indicators
| Liquidity info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months of cash | 24.6 | 22.9 | 25.7 | 34.1 | 22.4 |
| Months of cash and investments | 24.6 | 22.9 | 25.7 | 34.1 | 22.4 |
| Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets | 23.8 | 22.5 | 25.7 | 33.7 | 21.9 |
| Balance sheet composition info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $1,398,854 | $1,729,206 | $1,951,365 | $2,315,955 | $2,398,429 |
| Investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Receivables | $2,345 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $2,623 |
| Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) | $0 | $3,863 | $15,100 | $15,100 | $40,980 |
| Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) | 0.0% | 27.8% | 26.3% | 46.8% | 14.5% |
| Liabilities (as a % of assets) | 4.1% | 2.5% | 1.5% | 2.4% | 3.2% |
| Unrestricted net assets | $1,351,500 | $1,702,413 | $1,961,716 | $2,294,333 | $2,373,887 |
| Temporarily restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Permanently restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Total restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total net assets | $1,351,500 | $1,702,413 | $1,961,716 | $2,294,333 | $2,373,887 |
Key data checks
| Key data checks info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material data errors | No | No | No | No | No |
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
Executive Director & Founder
Mr. Richard Spurling
Richard achieved a degree in International Business from Florida Atlantic University, where he played Division I tennis. After graduation, Richard continued to pursue a career in the tennis industry, teaching tennis and managing several high-profile tennis programs in Florida and Massachusetts. Richard earned his MBA from Babson College in 2008, with a focus on entrepreneurship. While living in Massachusetts, Richard and Dr. Shafali Jeste, an autism researcher, collaborated to create a program that was designed to use the sport of tennis as a means to provide unique social and developmental benefits to children with autism. ACEing Autism was launched in 2008. Richard currently resides in Los Angeles with his two children, Nischal and Kiran, where he his advancing the vision of ACEing Autism, and serves on the Southern California Tennis Association and USTA National Adaptive Tennis Committees
Number of employees
Source: IRS Form 990
ACEING AUTISM INC
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.
ACEING AUTISM INC
Board of directorsas of 08/24/2023
Board of directors data
Rob Lapides
Rob Lapides LLC
Mira Spiegel
Peter Kotsifas
Matt Schleikhorn
Thomas Darling
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/24/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
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