Southern Tier Aquatics Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Southern Tier Aquatics, Inc. (STAQ) is a year-round competitive swim club which operates exclusively for educational and charitable purposes. We provide swim instructions and training in the underprivileged rural upstate New York area to enable local athletes to successfully compete at regional, national, and international championships.
- Income
- $158,398
- Spending
- $170,433
- Reserves
- 2.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 93%
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 49 out of 100. Higher than 13% of charities in its peer group (recreation and sports, under $250k).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 2.9 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 8% of income.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, 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 (3)
- $73,429 spent. With 45 enrolled swimmers, Senior Swim Team was our largest program during this reporting period. The age range of this group was 13-18 years old. Senior training practices ran Monday through Friday, with a total of approximately 12 training hours per week, including 8.5 hours in the pool and 1.5 hours of dryland workouts. During a typical practice, each swimmer completed between 3-8 miles of swimming depending on the type of practice, type of swim season and the swimmer. Each swim practice included 10 minutes of dynamic stretching, followed by 10-20 minutes of warm-up in the pool, followed by the pre-set where the swimmers were getting ready for the main set. The main set consisted of repetitions of swims for time. During each set, swimmers were working on improving their technique in four competitive strokes - freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke. A significant portion of the practice was also spent on the underwaters training whereby swimmers worked on their lung capacity and underwater kicking. The main goal of this program was to prepare athletes for achieving qualifying times for the district, regional and national championships. All senior swimmers competed in a variety of local and regional meets held in Webster, NY, Victor, NY, Buffalo, NY and Ithaca, NY, including the 2025 Niagara Silver Championship, the 2025 Niagara Open Gold Championship, the 2025 Niagara 14 & Under Championship and 2025 Eastern Zone North Speedo Short Course Sectionals.
- $44,057 spent. With a total of 45 swimmers enrolled, our Age Group 2 and Age Group 1 were the second largest program during this reporting period. Age Group 2 practiced 4 times per week for 1.5 hours per day. Age Group 1 practiced 3 times per week for 1 hour per day. Age Group 2 included swimmers of 8 to 13 years old. Age Group 2 practices were a combination of swim drills in the pool and dryland exercises. This group focused on more advanced stroke techniques for all four competitive strokes, including refined starts and turns. The underwater kick began to be mastered at this level. Goal setting and the subsequent mental training required to accomplish such goals were a primary focus of this group. Age Group 1 included swimmers ranging from 6 to 12 years old. Age Group 1 swim practices focused on building aerobic capacity and involved a lot of kick sets. This created a strong foundation for good body position (long, straight core) and proper kicking practices. The Coaches of each group were responsible for fostering a healthy relationship with each athlete and helped them grow in and out of the pool. The Coaches knew each athlete's goals, kept track of the athlete's attendance and workout performance, coached them at meets, and provided leadership. The team worked on building trust, open communication, and mutual respect. Participation in local and regional swim meets was required for Age Group 2 and Age Group 1 teams.
- $29,371 spent. The Swim Stroke and Water Safety School and Intro to Swim programs consisted of introductory swim classes geared towards beginning swimmers who were not yet ready to participate in competitive swimming but who desired to learn all four competitive swimming strokes and begin working on starts and turns. The main focus of these short and engaging lessons was on teaching water safety and installing water safety habits to last a lifetime. We engaged diverse mentors from our Senior Swim Team to act as role models during these introductory swim classes. Our diverse mentors have demonstrated that swimming is for everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or socio-economic status, and everyone can reach their greatest potential in swimming through strong work ethics, discipline, self-motivation and teamwork. Our swim lessons and water safety education not only improved swimming techniques of local youth but also increased overall water awareness and emergency preparedness for a broad-base population in the rural upstate New York area. During the reporting period we delivered five six-week long sessions with two lessons per session and trained over 120 young children.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since September 2023.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 21, 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.