The Exceptional Foundation EIN 63-1096855

The Exceptional Foundation

EIN  63-1096855 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Birmingham, AL
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 8/31/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Provides social and recreational activities to improve the lives of people with disabilities and their families.
Leadership
Sara Newell · President and CEO · $182K
Money in and out
$2.7M revenue, $2.8M expenses
Bottom line
88% program efficiency

Provides social and recreational activities to improve the lives of people with disabilities and their families. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $2.7M in revenue, $2.8M in expenses, and $7.2M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$2.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$2.8M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$7.2M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$137K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.88 Management & general $0.08 Fundraising $0.04
Program efficiency
88%
of spending reaches programs▲ +1% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
9.3mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -15% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-5%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -175% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$2.7M
FY2024▼ -2%
Expenses
$2.8M
FY2024▲ +10%
Total assets
$7.3M
FY2024▼ -1%
Total liabilities
$97K
FY2024▼ -42%
Total revenue
$2.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$2.8M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$7.2M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$137K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$7.3M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B88%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 324
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 424
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $2.5M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

The exceptional foundation provides children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities unique opportunities to promote lasting friendships, healthy living, life skills, and community involvement. Services are provided through an adult day program, which runs daily from 7:50 A.M.

$2.5Mprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CThe Exceptional Foundation
EINHdr · item D63-1096855
Principal addressHdr · item CBirmingham, AL
WebsiteHdr · item Jexceptionalfoundation.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MAL
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFRecreation & Sports (N31Z)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMay 1994

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a24
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b24
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
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
President and CEO
$182,252Pt VII · Sec A
VP of Operation (1/1/24-06/5/24)
$42,224Pt VII · Sec A
VP of Marketing (1/1/24-06/5/24)
$36,703Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Sara Newell’s $182K as President and CEO is at the 78th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1841 $1–10M recreation & sports 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022
Sara Newell$182,252$176,215$148,203
Mary Virginia Bastar$42,224$93,917$89,706
Susan Garrett$36,703$78,779$69,364

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
Contributions & grants$1.7M · 63%
Program service revenue$1.1M · 40%
Investment income$76K · 3%
Contributions & grants63%$1.7M
Program service revenue40%$1.1M
Investment income3%$76K
— government grantsLn 1e$168K
Total revenueLn 12$2.7M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.88 Management & general $0.08 Fundraising $0.04
Program services88%$2.5M
Management & general8%$223K
Fundraising4%$107K
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.8M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$707K
Total assetsLn 16$7.3M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$97K
Total net assetsLn 32$7.2M
Months of cash on handcomputed3.0

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $2.2M · Operating expenses/yr $2.8M
9.3 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $2.5M · Total expenses $2.8M
88%
Management & General
Management & general $223K · Total expenses $2.8M
8%
Fundraising
Fundraising $107K · Total expenses $2.8M
4%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $119K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $1.5M
$0.08 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $1.7M · Total revenue $2.7M
63%
Government reliance
Government grants $168K · Total revenue $2.7M
6%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $1.1M · Total revenue $2.7M
40%
Investment reliance
Investment income $76K · Total revenue $2.7M
+3%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $1.1M · Total expenses $2.8M
38%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $2.7M · Prior year $2.8M
-2%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $2.2M · FY2024 $2.7M
+6%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $7.2M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $2.7M · Expenses $2.8M
-5%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $7.3M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $7.2M · Total assets $7.3M
99%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $1.5M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $7.3M
21%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Sara Newell · Reported title PRESIDENT AND CEO · Highest reported compensation $182K · Total expenses $2.8M
6%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $1.6M · Total expenses $2.8M
58%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 88%
Overhead ratio 8%
Fundraising cost ratio 6%
Revenue growth -2%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 1%
Accounting fee ratio 1%

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
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$17K
See all 3 funders →
Grants paid · 2 grants · $170K · 2023–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$107,447
Unitemized GrantFY2023$62,061

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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 (Latest)$2.7M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$2.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$2.4M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$2.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$2.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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