Apache Stronghold

What it reported doing in 2024

Prayer Journey August 4, 2024- September 25, 2024 On July 11th, 2024, the Apache Stronghold started the journey of prayer to the Supreme Court to stop the shattering of human existence and to protect Mother Earth. We have traveled, held ceremonies and gathered prayers from Tribes, Communities, Churches, and people in support of saving Oak Flat and religious freedom and protections for all. We began in the Northwest, Westcoast, South, mid-west to the East to gather in Washington DC at the Supreme court on September 11. We are appealing a lower court ruling that would have allowed the total destruction of Oak Flat by allowing the land to be transferred to Resolution Copper, a foreign owned company, owned by BHP and Rio Tinto. We will appeal Apache Stronghold v. United States to the U.S. Supreme Court on September 11. The case involves the federal governments planned destruction of Oak Flatknown in Apache as Chi'chil Bidagoteel a sacred site where Western Apaches and other Native peoples have worshipped since time immemorial. Oak Flat is the birthplace of our religion and the site of sacred ceremonies that cannot take place anywhere else. The United States is now planning to transfer ownership of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, a foreign-owned mining company that plans to destroy it. Resolutions mine will swallow Oak Flat in a two-mile-wide, 1,100-foot-deep crater, ending Apache religious practices forever. Our lawsuit challenges the destruction of Oak Flat as a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), the Constitution, and the 1852 Treaty with the Western Apaches. In March, the sharply divided Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, by a 6-5 vote, ruled that the obliteration of Oak Flat does not amount to a substantial burden on our religious exercise and that the Constitution and federal civil rights laws do not apply to the governments disposition of its own land. In September, we will ask the Supreme Court to correct this ruling and hold that federal law protects Oak Flat. The stakes could not be any higher. If the Ninth Circuits ruling is allowed to stand, the United States will be allowed to destroy Oak Flat and any other sacred site with impunity. If the Supreme Court rules in our favor, it will ensure that Native Americans receive the same protection for our religious freedom that all other religious groups across the country already enjoy.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 99.4%; rating input score 99
• Program expense ratio: 95.8%; rating input score 96
• Fundraising efficiency: $35.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
  • Whistleblower policy: Fail
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -3.8%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.32; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

• Program expense growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 16.2% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings