PLATINUM2024

AIRLINK INC

Supporting Communities In Crisis

aka Airlink   |   Washington, DC   |  airlinkflight.org

Mission

Airlink is a global nonprofit organization working with aviation and logistics partners to transport relief workers and emergency supplies for reputable non-governmental organizations (NGOs) responding to rapid-onset disasters and other humanitarian crises around the globe. Airlink delivers critical aid to communities in crisis by providing free airlift and logistical solutions to nonprofit partners, changing the way the humanitarian community responds to disasters. Our responses to hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other disasters have brought life-saving and life-changing aid to some of the world's most vulnerable beneficiaries. In addition to rapid response and related recovery, Airlink also focuses on preparedness, protracted emergencies and conflicts.

Ruling year info

2014

President & CEO

Steven J Smith

Main address

1023 15th Street NW Suite 1100

Washington, DC 20005 USA

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EIN

37-1710848

Subject area info

Disaster relief

Disaster preparedness

Communicable disease control

Disasters

Climate change

Show more subject areas

Population served info

Refugees and displaced people

Internally displaced people

Victims of disaster

Victims of conflict and war

NTEE code info

Alliance/Advocacy Organizations (M01)

IRS subsection

501(c)(3) Public Charity

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Tax forms

Communication

Blog

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Aid organizations face many challenges jeopardizing their ability to reach vulnerable, disaster-impacted populations and developing communities in need.
• During large-scale crises, infrastructure is damaged and supply chains often become constricted making it difficult to send relief workers and deliver critical aid in the immediate aftermath of disaster.
• While well-publicized large disasters often bring attention and public support to aid organizations, hundreds of lesser-known but equally important disasters are impacting families each year. With limited financial resources dedicated to these emergencies, aid organizations may not be able to respond.
• Many developing areas are challenged with providing adequate health care, providing educational opportunities for children, and addressing other critical community problems.

The logistics expertise and donated or reduced-rate flights coordinated by Airlink help address these challenges.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Disaster and Humanitarian Relief

Airlink works with global aviation and logistics partners to transport aid workers and emergency supplies for pre-qualified humanitarian organizations responding to rapid-onset disasters and other humanitarian crises around the globe. The organization ensures people receive immediate assistance in the form of food, medical care, clean water, shelter, and other critical services, and communities have the support they need to recover from crisis.

Population(s) Served
Victims of disaster
Victims of conflict and war
Internally displaced people
Refugees and displaced people

Where we work

Awards

Humanitarian Award 2023

The Wings Club Foundation

Affiliations & memberships

Interaction 2024

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of relief workers moved into disaster zones and crises.

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Internally displaced people, Refugees and displaced people, Victims of disaster, Economically disadvantaged people, Victims of conflict and war

Related Program

Disaster and Humanitarian Relief

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Flights are provided at no cost to skilled professional and volunteer responders. They assist local communities by coordinating with local agencies - providing specialized disaster response services.

Number of aid organization partners assisted.

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people, Internally displaced people, Refugees and displaced people, Victims of conflict and war, Victims of disaster

Related Program

Disaster and Humanitarian Relief

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Airlink currently has 150 vetted NGO partners, some responding to one-time events and others responding to multiple events year over year. Airlink's growth has capacity to support more each year.

Number of airline/logistics companies engaged in mission response.

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people, Internally displaced people, Refugees and displaced people, Victims of conflict and war, Victims of disaster

Related Program

Disaster and Humanitarian Relief

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Airlink has 50+ airline/logistics partners. The number of airlines reported reflects those we booked flights with in that year and is dependent on alignment of disasters/crises with airline routes.

Value of transportation/logistics provided relief worker passenger and relief cargo flights.

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people, Internally displaced people, Refugees and displaced people, Victims of conflict and war, Victims of disaster

Related Program

Disaster and Humanitarian Relief

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of disaster and humanitarian relief response and recovery projects undertaken.

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Refugees and displaced people, Economically disadvantaged people, Victims of disaster, Victims of conflict and war, Emergency responders

Related Program

Disaster and Humanitarian Relief

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Note in 2020 and 2021: COVID-19 response is counted as a single mission, though Airlink responded in 30 countries spanning the globe. Due to travel restrictions, NGOs responded to fewer world crises.

Amount of emergency supplies/aid cargo transported by air to disaser zones and humanitarian crises.

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Disaster and Humanitarian Relief

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

pounds

Number of beneficiaries receiving assistance

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Internally displaced people, Victims of conflict and war, Victims of disaster, Economically disadvantaged people, Refugees and displaced people

Related Program

Disaster and Humanitarian Relief

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Airlink support for programs results in more people receiving access to food, clean water, shelter, medical assistance, training, and other services.

Value of emergency cargo moved into disaster zones and crises.

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people, Victims of conflict and war, Victims of disaster, Internally displaced people, Refugees and displaced people

Related Program

Disaster and Humanitarian Relief

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Airlink aims to ensure people and communities impacted by disasters and other crises receive the life-saving assistance they need immediately. By helping responding aid organizations overcome logistical and financial challenges on transportation for relief personnel and emergency supplies, Airlink enables NGOs to deliver aid they might not otherwise have the funds to transport and leverage impact of existing funds 2-5x through donated, discounted and collaborative shipments. This enables NGO partners to scale their impact where they are needed most.

Strategies include growing capacity to complete more disaster and humanitarian relief missions by further developing a responsive, robust airline partnership program; increasing the frequency of missions requests from NGO partners, securing funding to complete missions when donated capacity from airlines is unavailable,;building relationships and collaborate with key humanitarian logistics entities; further develop the organization's volunteer base; and adequately staff the organization with highly qualified professionals.

The organization has grown its expertise by recruiting experienced employees, engaging seasoned volunteers, and entering partnerships with other organizations in a variety of capacities directly impacting strategy areas. Airlink also benefits from an expansive network of aviation companies and professionals lending their expertise in support of the organization.

Airlink has grown its network to include 200 aid organizations and 50 commercial and charter airlines. Since its inception, Airlink has helped move over 11,000 relief workers and transported more than12M pounds of aid cargo. The organization is focusing on growing its capacity to help more organizations carry out missions to disasters and other complex emergencies.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Revenue vs. expenses:  breakdown

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info
NET GAIN/LOSS:    in 
Note: When component data are not available, the graph displays the total Revenue and/or Expense values.

Liquidity in 2023 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

7.49

Average of 24.35 over 10 years

Months of cash in 2023 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

0.8

Average of 7.4 over 10 years

Fringe rate in 2023 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

15%

Average of 11% over 10 years

Funding sources info

Source: IRS Form 990

Assets & liabilities info

Source: IRS Form 990

Financial data

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

AIRLINK INC

Revenue & expenses

Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

AIRLINK INC

Balance sheet

Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

Documents
Form 1023/1024 is not available for this organization

President & CEO

Steven J Smith

Steves leadership skills have been formed and tested across several fast-paced and high-energy organizations in the aviation, logistics, nonprofit, public relations, and information technology arenas. As President and CEO of Airlink, Steve has taken the organization from a fledgling enterprise to an experienced, professional disaster logistics nonprofit that delivers hope and aid to millions of people across the globe. Today, Airlink works with and enjoys the partnership of the world's leading airlines and nonprofit organizations. Since Steve joined Airlink in 2013, he has delivered a twentyfold increase in the organizations resource base and global impact. ior to joining Airlink, Steve held a number of international leadership positions across several sectors - aviation, nonprofit, public relations, and information technology. In 2023, Steve was selected to participate in the prestigious Presidential Leadership Scholars program.

Number of employees

Source: IRS Form 990

AIRLINK INC

Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation
Other
Related
Show data for fiscal year
Compensation data
Download up to 5 most recent years of officer and director compensation data for this organization

AIRLINK INC

Highest paid employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation
Other
Related
Show data for fiscal year
Compensation data
Download up to 5 most recent years of highest paid employee data for this organization

AIRLINK INC

Board of directors
as of 01/18/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board of directors data
Download the most recent year of board of directors data for this organization
Board chair

Mr Todd Freeman

James Hnat

JetBlue (retired)

Robyn Mandel

Law Offices of Robyn L Mandel

Todd Freeman

GECAS (retired)

Robert Brown

VmoAir

George Fenton

Humanitarian Logistics Association

Ken Gazzola

Four Stars Aviation

Nicole Huque

Krauthamer & Associates

Mary Ellen Jones

Pratt & Whitney

Niklas Lund

Rockton

Mark Packard

JP Morgan Chase

Steve Rimmer

Altavair

Tom Ruth

Edmonton Int'l Airport (retired)

Jennifer Villa Tennity

Ashland Place Finance

James Gagne

SEKO Logistics

Anand Stanley

Airbus

Dawne Hickton

Cumberland Additive Inc

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 1/18/2024

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 03/11/2022

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
Policies and processes
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.