Forward Mt

Overview

Mission

Building the political power with and for young montanans by driving a culture of civic engagement.

What it reported doing in 2024

VOTER EDUCATION AND MOBILIZATION Mobilized voters for the primary election: Distributed 15,000 voter guides; created online voter guide for MT Supreme Court; called 19,470 young voters.Mobilized voters for the general election: Distributed 190,970 voter guides; hosted 3 candidate forums; knocked 42,394 doors of young voters; called 1,291 young voters.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
134285849
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017
Headquarters
Missoula, MT, USA
Phone
4065428683
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Voter Education, Registration

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.8%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 92.9%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $35.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.8%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.41; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.9%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 43.6% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 24.2% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.8% of revenue deployed · 92.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $101K · 15 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $680K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 7 annual filings from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • KIERSTEN IWAI (Executive Dir.): $100,724 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.