Avela - a Vision for Engineering Literacy & Access
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
AVELA members teach K-12 students about college, computing, and engineering through classes, workshops, and other forms of community outreach by representing the populations we aim to support.
- Income
- $826,244
- Spending
- $839,514
- Spent on programs
- 96%
- Reserves
- 3.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 97%
- Employees
- 42
- Volunteers
- 15
- Highest pay
- $27,450, chair and executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 78 out of 100. Higher than 50% of charities in its peer group (education, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 3.3 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 2% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 84% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1596% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Weak: 41 out of 100. Higher than 11% of charities in its peer group (education, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
5 of 253 of 6 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
0 of 15Reports no written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (6)
- $220,000 spent. The Reboot Representation Grant aimed to support women in AVELA, who constitute 60% - 70% of the organization's STEM instructors. The grant provided $4,000 stipends to 40 different AVELA student instructors. This initiative was designed to encourage more women to participate and excel in STEM fields, directly benefiting the female educators involved in AVELA's programs. Because of this initiative, AVELA helped double the number of BLNA women getting computing degrees from 2022 to 2025. An AVELA staff member helped facilitate the partnerships.
- $294,421 spent. This partnership funding covered stipends to instructors to reach STEM lessons to secondary school students. The AVELA-Amazon partnership funding also covered expenses for hosting the AVELA-Amazon Scholarship Night. It included sessions on scholarship applications, essay writing, and breakout sessions, with support through food and prizes to keep attendees engaged and informed about scholarship opportunities.
- $99,425 spent. In partnership with SPEEA, AVELA received a grant to host a series of STEM workshops. AVELA instructors led lessons on topics like Drone Building, CAD design, AI for Aerospace, Data Activism, and User Experience Research & Design. These workshops engaged participants in hands-on learning, providing both instructional time and office hours for additional support.
- $27,000 spent. BICE Conference
- $89,077 spent. General educational programs
- $73,847 spent. Specialized classes
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since December 2022.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.