Alternative Energy Resources Org

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
810350698
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Helena, MT, USA
Phone
4064437272
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Energy Resources Conservation and Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$692,132
Expenses
$880,216
Assets
$106,638
Liabilities
$153,988

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBIN KELSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBIN KELSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $81,941 total reported compensation
  • ERIN AUSTIN (DIR OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS/SALES): $64,910 total reported compensation
  • SAMANTHA MCGOWAN (DIRECTOR OF MARKETING/COMMUNICATION): $63,592 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Aero dba abundant Montana promotes a more sustainable Montana for all, working at the intersection of renewable energy, stewardship agriculture, and community food systems. Our current focus is re-building the bridge between Montana food and farm businesses and Montana eaters. We connect food and farm businesses to in-state markets and help consumers value and find local food, building demand for Montana food statewide. We also lead system level food value chain coordination, bringing partners, supply chain actors, and state and community stakeholders together to solve supply chain challenges. Our goal is simple: make choosing Montana food the norm across the state. This strengthens Montana's ability to feed itself and reduces its vulnerability to global food supply disruptions. We're dedicated to filling every plate with local food for an abundant Montana future.

What it reported doing in 2025

Value chain coordination & network weaving [jane kile, 33x33, summit, grow mt, mfei]: with strong leadership in market matchmaking and network weaving, abundant Montana acts as a statewide orchestrator of efforts to build coordinated Montana market infrastructure for a resilient, self-sustaining Montana food system that works across the state. The jane kile scholarship funds enterprsies that feed the Montana community. Our partner collaboration on 33x33 mt food on school meal plates is bringing local food to k-12 schools. As the backbone organization for the 33x33 for Montana initiative, catalyzer for the 2026 governor's summit on local food and agriculture, and engaged member of the grow Montana food policy coalition, we convene partners, supply chain actors, and state and community stakeholders to solve supply chain pinch points and co-design statewide infrastructure that shifts Montana from a fragmented, import-dependent food system to a connected, coordinated, resilient, and self-sustaining Montana food economy -- ensuring that by 2033, 33% of food consumed in Montana is produced in Montana.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 5
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 75.5%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -27.2%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.12; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.44; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 30.6%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.6% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 75.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $664K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $82K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.