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Ascent 121 INC FY2023 filing

Tax-deductible

Carmel, IN501(c)(3)Since 2012Human Services EIN 46-1577827Revenue $1.3M in FY2023Latest return filed Jul 16, 2026

On file with the IRSascent121.orgCarmel, INTax-exempt since Jul 2013Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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The primary purpose of the agency shall be I) to provide financial and other assistance for the health, educational, psychological, emotional and welfare needs of individuals in crisis situations, with an emphasis on those who have been involved in human trafficking, II) to provide financial and other assistance for the welfare needs of individuals who have been in the legal system, III) to provide financial and other assistance to other tax exempt organizations that are serving populations of human trafficking, poverty, social disenfranchisement, illiteracy and food insecurity, IV) to assist, enable and facilitate tax exempt organizations with similar missions, v) to empower volunteers and donors to share resources for the charitable, educational, and scientific purposes of the agency.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
78¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$200K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2023 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
4 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $96K a year · 7% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
78%
of spending
Looks good: 78% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$200K
to officers and key staff · 16% of spending
Fine: pay to officers and key staff is 16% of spending; 15% to 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
14 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 14.2 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
4
named funders · $159K
Looks good: 4 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$689K
35% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 35% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
9
of 11 voting members
Looks good: 9 of 11 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$1.3M
+14% vs prior year
Spent
$1.3M
To programs
78%
Net assets
$1.3M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$1.3M
FY2023▲ +14%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$1.0M
FY2021$1.3M
FY2022$1.1M
FY2023$1.3M
FY2024$1.4M
FY2025$1.6M
Expenses
$1.3M
FY2023▲ +5%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$892K
FY2021$1.1M
FY2022$1.2M
FY2023$1.3M
FY2024$1.3M
FY2025$1.4M
Net assets
$1.3M
FY2023-0.04%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$786K
FY2021$1.0M
FY2022$1.3M
FY2023$1.3M
FY2024$1.4M
FY2025$1.7M

From the FY2023 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 2013.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

78 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 78% · $998K Management & general 22% · $278K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

12 people listed on the 990; $200K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$110,395Pt VII · Sec A
$90,100Pt VII · Sec A
Steve Diagostino
Board Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Betsy Smith
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Seth Thomas
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Megan McGuire’s $106K as CEO is at the 41st percentile of top reported officer pay among 3869 $1–10M 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Megan McGuire$106,393$100,790$110,395$102,000$102,000$92,000
Megan Jessup$97,940$90,100$90,100$82,000$78,000$76,000

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.

See Ascent 121 INC executive salaries →

Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo

Programs and updates

Offers long-term recovery services for human trafficking survivors.

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1 program · $998K · in their own filed words · FY2023
01

Survivor Services

Ascent 121 provides mental health and other recovery services for indiana teen survivors of human trafficking. We offer options including diagnostic & evaluation services, mental health and family preservation services, case management services for survivors and their families.

$998Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFY2024$66K
United Way of Central Indiana INCFY2024$43K
Natl Christian Charitable Fdn INCFY2024$42K
St Vincent Hospital and Health Care Center INCFY2024$8K
Total grants receivedfrom 4 funders$159K
See all 4 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

Download 990
from philanthropy.org
1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.3M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$806K
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$403K
Other incomeLn 4–11$42K
Money outPt IX
$1.3M
Ln 25
Programscol B$998K
Managementcol C$278K
Owns and owesPt X
$1.3M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.5M
Total assetsLn 16$2.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$689K
PeoplePt VI, VII
12
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a11
IndependentVI 1b9
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$403K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$806K
Investment incomeLn 3$20K
Other incomeLn 4–11$42K
Total revenueLn 12$1.3M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$144
SavingsLn 2$1.5M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$1.5M
Pledges and grants receivableLn 3$50K
Accounts receivableLn 4$336K
Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesLn 9$23K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$32K
Other assetsLn 15$1K
Total assetsLn 16$2.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$689K
Net assetsLn 32$1.3M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 518
VolunteersI 6143
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$720K$1.5M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$41K$32K
Total assetsLn 16$1.3M$2.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$21K$689K
Net assetsLn 32$1.3M$1.3M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$206K$171K$35K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$526K$436K$89K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$47K$39K$8K
Payroll taxesLn 10$59K$49K$10K
Legal feesLn 11b$30K$19K$10K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$127K$89K$39K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$2K$2K$340
Office expensesLn 13$59K$49K$10K
Information technologyLn 14$9K$6K$3K
OccupancyLn 16$72K$60K$12K
TravelLn 17$47K$22K$24K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$14K$12K$2K
InsuranceLn 23$25K$21K$4K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$4K$2K$2K
All other expensesLn 24e$50K$21K$28K
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.3M$998K$278K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS Jul 16, 2026 $1.6M$1.4M$199K$1.7M 990 PDF
FY2024Filed with the IRS Aug 11, 2025 $1.4M$1.3M$116K$1.4M 990 PDF
FY2023 ViewingFiled with the IRS Aug 22, 2024 $1.3M$1.3M−$6K$1.3M 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS Aug 3, 2023 $1.1M$1.2M−$109K$1.3M 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Sep 14, 2022 $1.3M$1.1M$224K$1.0M 990 PDF
FY2020Filed with the IRS Aug 5, 2021 $1.0M$892K$153K$786K 990 PDF

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,270,261 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $415,474$402,842
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $680,193$805,539
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $2,508$19,678
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $14,385$42,202
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $1,112,560$1,270,261
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $747,973$837,047
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $473,367$439,308
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $1,221,340$1,276,355
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$108,780−$6,094
Part VI · Governance 9 of 11 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body11
VI-1b Independent voting members9
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,270,261 across 6 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for −$8 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$402,842
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$402,842
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $805,539$805,539
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $19,678$19,678
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax $42,210$42,210
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $805,531 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $61,888$1,270,261
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,276,355 across 15 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $171,266 · Management $35,079$206,345
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $436,259 · Management $89,354$525,613
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $38,611 · Management $7,908$46,519
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $48,613 · Management $9,957$58,570
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $19,458 · Management $10,478$29,936
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $88,851 · Management $38,571$127,422
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $1,660 · Management $340$2,000
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $48,691 · Management $9,973$58,664
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $6,430 · Management $2,756$9,186
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $59,599 · Management $12,207$71,806
IX-17 TravelPrograms $22,465 · Management $24,338$46,803
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $11,968 · Management $2,451$14,419
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $20,927 · Management $4,287$25,214
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $1,812 · Management $2,401$4,213
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $21,347 · Management $28,298$49,645
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $997,957 · Management $278,398 · Fundraising $0$1,276,355
Part X · Balance sheet $1,956,606 assets, 15 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $152,581$144
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $567,709$1,513,120
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $95,586$50,000
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $413,334$336,187
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $18,423$23,303
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $41,349$32,473
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $0$1,379
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $1,288,982$1,956,606
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $21,140$20,519
X-18 Grants payable$668,773
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $21,140$689,292
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $851,435$938,142
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $416,407$329,172
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $1,267,842$1,267,314
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $1,288,982$1,956,606
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,267,314 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,270,261
XI-2 Total expenses$1,276,355
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$6,094
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$1,267,842
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$5,566
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$1,267,314

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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