Bitter Root Humane Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
810351709
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Hamilton, MT, USA
Phone
4063635311
Rating
91
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$869,797
Expenses
$910,508
Assets
$5,271,442
Liabilities
$23,990

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jen Chase (Vice President)
  • Lisa Allison (President)

People named in this filing

  • Sean Hurst (Board Member)
  • Heidi Pederson (Treasurer)
  • Robin Dewey (Board Member)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of the Bitter Root Humane Association is to build a compassionate community where pets & people thrive.

What it reported doing in 2025

BRHA's major program is the care of the animals in residence. In 2025, 1195 animals were brought into the shelter. Animals are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, fed, and cared for. Animals requiring special medical care (surgeries, etc.) receive this here from a team of vets & assistants that volunteer their time. Mental and physical well-being are accomplished through human interaction, playing with other animals and exercise. BRHA also utilizes a foster program so that animals can spend as much time in a home setting as possible as opposed to the shelter setting. This helps them adjust to various environments and aids in adoptions. There is an adoption process by which the staff works to place animals in the best home possible. To assist the public in being able to keep and care for their animals, the BRHA offers additional services. BRHA offers spay/neuter services, micro-chips and vaccinations at low to no cost for the public. BRHA operates a community pantry offering food to the public to feed their animals when they cannot afford it.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 95
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.3%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 90%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3,052.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -4.7%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.79; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.3% of revenue deployed · 90% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $819K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.