Camp Fern Legacy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
883281650
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Marshall, TX, USA
Phone
9037424321
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Camps

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,494,481
Expenses
$1,403,303
Assets
$405,018
Liabilities
$234,295

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JUSTIN DAVIS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SARAH HOFFMAN (EXECUTIVE DI): $62,333 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Camp fern legacy's mission is to encourage boys & girls to grow into well- balanced, self-assured young men & women. Children learn to value nature and follow their passions and interests. Personal development is the center of a summer at camp fern legacy. Our motto is "god first, others second, i am third."

What it reported doing in 2025

Camp fern legacy operates a residential summer camp program designed to provide youth with opportunities for personal growth, outdoor education, leadership development, and character building in a safe, inclusive environment. The program offers both two-week and four-week sessions for girls and boys, emphasizing teamwork, responsibility, and age-appropriate recreational and educational activities. During the most recent fiscal year, camp fern legacy served 219 campers, with an over 90% return rate for four-week sessions. Two-week sessions consistently serve as a pipeline for campers who later enroll in the four- week program, supporting sustained engagement and long-term impact. In addition to summer programming, camp fern legacy expanded its community engagement by hosting its first annual family weekend, strengthening relationships with camper families and providing multigenerational connection to camp traditions. The organization also continued to engage alumni through volunteer workdays and participation in summer programming. Staff training remained a priority, including on-site instruction from industry professionals, with a strong emphasis on abuse prevention and misconduct training to ensure camper safety and staff preparedness. Generous contributions of time and financial support enabled significant program and facility enhancements. All cabins were fully outfitted with new bunk beds, improving camper comfort and safety. Camp fern legacy purchased and now owns 18 horses, allowing for the continued expansion of its equestrian program. Facility upgrades included roof replacements, the addition of an outdoor kitchen (uvk) to support the camp's traditional outdoor breakfast program, and the carving and painting of a new totem pole during the summer session. Infrastructure improvements included the installation of fiber optic internet and the addition of battery backup systems for trail lighting to illuminate evacuation routes during power outages. The organization initiated the process for american camp association (aca) accreditation, with completion anticipated in fall 2026. Program staff and board members continued professional development by attending the national aca conference and actively identifying best practices and industry standards. Camp fern legacy also began a comprehensive evaluation of policies and procedures to strengthen operations, enhance safety, and support continuous program improvement.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 69% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.9%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 90.2%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.1%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.29; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 35.3% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 26.3% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.2% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.9% of revenue deployed · 90.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $62K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.