Bentonville Bella Vista Trailblazers

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
710785162
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bentonville, AR, USA
Phone
4792311365
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Physical Fitness and Community Recreational Facilities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,002,767
Expenses
$15,699,640
Assets
$31,955,613
Liabilities
$202,983

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LAUREN BREWER (PRESIDENT)
  • AMMEN JORDAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • RICHARD ERIN RUSHING (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • RICHARD ERIN RUSHING (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $170,434 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Lead the development of an innovative regional recreation and transportation system that places trails and active transportation infrastructure at the core of an inclusive, vibrant, and healthy culture.

What it reported doing in 2024

Trailblazers advance active transportation and outdoor recreation by planning, funding, constructing, and maintaining shared use paved and multi-use soft surface trails throughout northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas/Mississippi delta region. In 2024, the organization continued development and maintenance of more than 200 miles of trail network and managed multiple construction projects in progress. Trailblazers coordinated community trail maintenance volunteerism, engaging hundreds of residents in stewardship activities, and led outreach and education programs promoting safe, equitable transportation and active lifestyles. Through collaboration with municipalities, community groups, and philanthropic partners, trailblazers expanded access to outdoor spaces and strengthened regional mobility and connectivity.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 75% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 68.9%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 88.6%; rating input score 89; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -422.8%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.04; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.1% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 68.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $10.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $170K · 10 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $232K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.