American Safe Climbing Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
680419449
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2021
Location
Boulder, CO, USA
Phone
6502914057
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Recreation& Sports N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$334,030
Expenses
$248,362
Assets
$186,689
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Gregory B Barnes (Treasurer and Executive Director)
  • Chris McNamara (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Gregory B Barnes (Treasurer and Executive Director): $62,400 total reported compensation
  • Nathan N Liles (Development Director): $39,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The American Safe Climbing Association is a non-profit organization of climbers who are dedicated to making the sport of rock climbing safer by replacing unsafe bolts and anchors and by educating climbers, land managers and the public about climbing and anchor safety.

What it reported doing in 2025

Thousands of unsafe climbing bolts and anchors were replaced or maintained by volunteers all across the United States, and many climbers and land managers were educated about various facets of outdoor rock climbing anchor safety. The number of climbers who directly benefited from the increased safety of these anchors is difficult to estimate, but it is probably in excess of 50,000.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 44
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.4%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 60%; rating input score 60; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 25.6%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.75; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 40.8%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.6% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.3% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.4% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $248K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $62K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.