Blue Sky Institure

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
870668031
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2022, Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Salt Lake Cty, UT, USA
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$76,682
Expenses
$179,136
Assets
$7,797

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Lionel Trepanier (Trustee)
  • Raphael Cordray (Trustee)
  • Thomas King (Trustee)

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

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

Overview

Mission

Blue Sky Institute BSI is a grassroots organization based in Utah. BSI is a 501c3 organization that was established in 2001. BSI is dedicated to providing outreach and education on social justice issues in the areas of Education Human Rights Environment; Sustainability and Responsibility.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Salt Lake Community Bail Fund posts bail for individuals in need in Salt Lake County and works to end the money bail system through advocacy and education. The funds were used to pay bail for releasing 72 individuals held on pretrial incarceration in Salt Lake Metro Jail.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 95
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 12
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 87.4%; rating input score 87

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -133.6%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.04; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -30.4% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -19.7% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 2 filed program accomplishments · $157K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 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 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.