Back2youth Outdoor Empowerment Program

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
873519559
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024
Location
Eugene, OR, USA
Phone
5415158295
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$358,933
Expenses
$198,638
Assets
$257,669
Liabilities
$-3,003

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NILES MITTASCH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • KINGSLEY NKWONTA (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • NILES MITTASCH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $91,080 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Back2Youths mission is to create pathways to health, wellness, resilience, and belonging by reconnecting youth with nature through outdoor experiences, mentorship, and healing centered practices. Our organization provides culturally responsive programs that support the social, e

What it reported doing in 2025

Back2Youths Outdoor Empowerment Program provided culturally responsive outdoor education, mentorship, and social emotional learning opportunities for youth ages 1118, with a focus on serving underserved, BIPOC, and rural communities. Through experiential learning and healing centered practices, the organization supported youth in building confidence, resilience, leadership skills, and a stronger sense of belonging. Program activities included hiking, biking, fishing, camping, kayaking, rafting, environmental education, mindfulness, reflective practices, mentorship, and team based challenges delivered in small supportive group settings. Back2Youth also worked to reduce barriers to participation by providing scholarships, transportation, outdoor gear, and access to safe outdoor experiences. Program outcomes included measurable increases in youth confidence, emotional well being, connection to nature, and sense of belonging. Participants demonstrated improved s

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 97% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.5%; rating input score 56
  • 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: 75%; rating input score 75; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 44.7%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.3; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 45.9%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 33.1% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 70.8% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.5% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $199K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $91K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 21 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.