Alaska Avalanche School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
721580840
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2013
Location
Anchorage, AK, USA
Phone
9372650061
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Safety Education

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$457,931
Expenses
$573,992
Assets
$141,485
Liabilities
$38,669

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Anne M Coady (Executive Director (Jul-Aug 2024))
  • Forest Wagner (Executive Director (Sep-Dec 2024))
  • Andrew Dahlin (Interim Executive Director (Dec 2024-Jun 2025))
  • Andrew Moderow (President)
  • Jenny McConnel (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Heather Johnson (Assistant Director): $59,864 total reported compensation
  • Anne M Coady (Executive Director (Jul-Aug 2024)): $56,162 total reported compensation
  • Forest Wagner (Executive Director (Sep-Dec 2024)): $21,910 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the Alaska Avalanche School is to provide exceptional experience-based avalanche safety education to all users of the mountain environment.

What it reported doing in 2024

During the reporting period, Alaska Avalanche School advanced its mission to reduce avalanche-related accidents and fatalities through high-quality education and outreach focused on winter backcountry safety. The organization delivered professional avalanche education grounded in current snow science, best practices, and Alaska-specific conditions, serving recreational users, professionals, and community groups across the state.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 92% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.3%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 68.8%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $25.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd 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: Limited
  • 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: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -25.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.25; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.4%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.3% of revenue deployed · 68.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $395K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.