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Ablelight INC EIN 39-0806446

Ablelight INC FY2021 filing

EIN  39-0806446 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Watertown, WI Founded 1903
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →
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Verified accurate 7/7/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$100M+
What they do
Provides services and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to promote independence and address social challenges.
Leadership
Dr Michael Thirtle · Former President & CEO · $581K
Money in and out
$107.6M revenue, $120.6M expenses
Bottom line
82% program efficiency

Provides services and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to promote independence and address social challenges. For fiscal year 2021 it reported $107.6M in revenue, $120.6M in expenses, and $134.3M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2021
Total revenue
$107.6M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$120.6M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$134.3M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$12.9M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.82 Management & general $0.15 Fundraising $0.03
Program efficiency
82%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
2.4mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
-12%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Revenue
$107.6M
FY2021▼ -5%
Expenses
$120.6M
FY2021▼ -7%
Total assets
$198.9M
FY2021▲ +11%
Total liabilities
$64.7M
FY2021▼ -17%
Total revenue
$107.6M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$120.6M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$134.3M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$12.9M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$198.9M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B82%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 312
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 412
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $98.5M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

Ablelight provides high quality, innovative services for nearly 1,300 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across 12 states. These services are intended to meet the needs of the whole person and promote their ability to live as independently as possible.

$98.5Mprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CAblelight INC
EINHdr · item D39-0806446
Principal addressHdr · item CWatertown, WI
WebsiteHdr · item Jablelight.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1903
State of legal domicileHdr · item MWI
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFHuman Services (P70)
Ruling yearIRS BMFAug 1937

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a12
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b12
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Dr Michael Thirtle
Former President & CEO
$581,476Pt VII · Sec A
Jeffrey Kaczmarski
EVP & VP Legal
$350,292Pt VII · Sec A
Dave Sneddon
Chief Operating Officer
$295,834Pt VII · Sec A
Diane Ekstrand
Chief Human Resources Officer
$273,091Pt VII · Sec A
Thomas Campbell
VP Real Estate
$262,124Pt VII · Sec A
Cindy Moon-Mogush Chief
Marketing & Communications
$261,377Pt VII · Sec A
David Griebl
Former Chief Strategy Officer
$260,029Pt VII · Sec A
Brian Savoie
Chief Financial Officer
$246,673Pt VII · Sec A

Keith Jones’s $621K as President and CEO is at the 78th percentile of top reported officer pay among 249 $100M+ human services nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Keith Jones$620,798$505,925$480,194———
Dr Michael Thirtle———$313,073$581,476$569,500
Dave Sneddon——$450,737$348,977$295,834—
Jeffrey Kaczmarski$367,154$331,684$371,010$365,386$350,292$367,281
Brian Savoie$333,016$296,434$285,110$281,998$246,673$53,391
Diane Ekstrand$296,685$273,973$299,068$301,882$273,091—
John Carreon$298,829—————
Thomas Campbell———$293,150$262,124—

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue$84.3M · 78%
Contributions & grants$15.9M · 15%
Investment income$6.0M · 6%
Other revenue$1.4M · 1%
Program service revenue78%$84.3M
Contributions & grants15%$15.9M
Investment income6%$6.0M
Other revenue1%$1.4M
— government grantsLn 1e$1.7M
Total revenueLn 12$107.6M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.82 Management & general $0.15 Fundraising $0.03
Program services82%$98.5M
Management & general15%$18.1M
Fundraising3%$3.9M
Total functional expensesLn 25$120.6M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$18.6M
Total assetsLn 16$198.9M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$64.7M
Total net assetsLn 32$134.3M
Months of cash on handcomputed1.8

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $22.7M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $120.6M · Less non-cash grants $6.0M · Cash operating expenses/yr $114.5M
2.4 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $98.5M · Total expenses $120.6M
82%
Management & General
Management & general $18.1M · Total expenses $120.6M
15%
Fundraising
Fundraising $3.9M · Total expenses $120.6M
3%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $3.6M · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $14.6M
$0.25 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $15.9M · Total revenue $107.6M
15%
Government reliance
Government grants $1.7M · Total revenue $107.6M
2%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $84.3M · Total revenue $107.6M
78%
Investment reliance
Investment income $6.0M · Total revenue $107.6M
+6%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $84.3M · Total expenses $120.6M
70%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $107.6M · Prior year $113.8M
-5%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $134.3M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $107.6M · Expenses $120.6M
-12%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $198.9M
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $134.3M · Total assets $198.9M
67%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $4.1M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $198.9M
2%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Jeffrey Kaczmarski · Reported title EVP & VP LEGAL · Highest reported compensation $350K · Total expenses $120.6M
0%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $84.9M · Total expenses $120.6M
70%
Fundraising vendors
Fundraiser cost ratio
Paid to fundraisers $311K · Gross raised $1.3M
24%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 82%——
Overhead ratio 15%——
Fundraising cost ratio 25%——
Revenue growth -5%——
Investment management fee ratio 0%——
Legal fee ratio 1%——
Accounting fee ratio 0%——
Fundraising fee ratio 0%——

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Leonard & Lillian Bethke Memorial Trust F/B/O Ablelight INCFY2025$35K
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$35K
Grants paid · 9 grants · $205K · 2019–2023
Unitemized GrantFY2023$10,000
Unitemized GrantFY2022$74,989
Unitemized GrantFY2022$9,667
Unitemized GrantFY2021$19,904
Unitemized GrantFY2021$9,000
Unitemized GrantFY2020$32,000
Unitemized GrantFY2020$6,169
Unitemized GrantFY2019$36,000
Unitemized GrantFY2019$6,976

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024$96.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$93.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$97.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$107.6M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$113.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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