Animas Valley Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841489411
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Durango, CO, USA
Phone
9702590585
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Personal Social Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,013,876
Expenses
$988,406
Assets
$872,229
Liabilities
$313,696

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • BILL PLOTKIN (DIRECTOR): $53,135 total reported compensation
  • BRIAN STAFFORD (DIRECTOR): $50,323 total reported compensation
  • LAURA BLAKEMAN (DIRECTOR): $44,496 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Animas valley institute's mission is to help individuals align their everyday lives with their most deeply-rooted aspirations and convictions, thereby engendering a more fulfilling and purposeful life-style and, ultimately, a more sustainable and soul-centered society.

What it reported doing in 2023

Animas offered 30 wilderness and 12 online immersions, guiding a total of 578 participants on personal soul encounters. This represents an approximate 22% decrease in programs offered compared to the previous year. Approximately 50 trainees in our two training programs continued their jouney to become soul initiation guides and wild mind certified specialists.

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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 68.1%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $24.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th 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; 63rd 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: Pass
    • 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: 2.5%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.2%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.3% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68% of revenue deployed · 68.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $673K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $53K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2013 to 2023
  • 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: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.