Catalyst for Change

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
851815145
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Big Timber, MT, USA
Phone
4063257042
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Counseling, Support Groups

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,129,037
Expenses
$966,778
Assets
$531,652
Liabilities
$157,032

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AMBER MARTINSEN (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMBER MARTINSEN (CEO): $195,600 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of catalyst for change is to improve the mental health and general well-being all montanans and reduce deaths by suicide through: (a) the development, implementation, and propagation of community health workers programs for mental health; (b) the development and maintenance of a telebehavioral health network of therapists, psychiatrists and digital therapeutic interventions; (c) educating and empowering communities at the local level and (d) maximizing and augmenting the availability and use of local resources.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, catalyst for change achieved transformative milestones, advancing its mission to provide accessible, culturally sensitive mental healthcare to Montana's diverse rural and tribal communities. Serving 23 of the state's 56 counties, the organization delivered services to 241 clientsa 43% increase from the previous yearthrough 2,390 connections with people seeking personalized mental healthcare. Clients accessed care via catalyst's robust network of telehealth professionals, community health workers (chws), and local partnerships with counties, schools, health clinics, law enforcement, and first responders. Catalyst expanded its chw training and clinical oversight program into two additional counties, further solidifying its statewide presence. Groundbreaking mental health outcomes included 83% of surveyed clients reporting improved mood, 84% indicating enhanced stress-coping skills, and 50% experiencing reduced depression or suicidal thoughts within six months of care. These efforts, combined with immediate mental healthcare services intervention capabilities and culturally responsive care, bridged critical gaps for underserved populations, demonstrating catalyst's scalable and sustainable impact.catalyst's accomplishments were amplified by strategic growth and statewide recognition. Key expansions included one new board member with extensive healthcare leadership and strategic planning experience and the addition of two full-time and three part-time roles, including a headquarters administrator and data-management coordinator, to bolster operational and outreach capacities. Significant partnerships, including a contract with the help center, a suicide and crisis helpline, to provide follow-up care and participation in the Montana legislature's hb872 behavioral health system for future generations initiative to integrate chws into rural public health systems, further positioned catalyst as a leader in systems change. Recognition by ktvq billings and the helena independent record highlighted the organization's innovative approaches to rural mental healthcare. With a data-driven, community-focused model, catalyst for change set a new standard for addressing mental health disparities, strengthening individual and community resilience, and empowering Montana's most vulnerable populations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 75
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 58%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 67.8%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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; 16th 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: 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: 14.4%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.55; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.3; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.2%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.6% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.9% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 58% of revenue deployed · 67.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $656K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $196K · 4 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.