Colorado Trout Unlimited

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
840628113
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
3034402937
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fisheries Resources

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,442,473
Expenses
$1,286,288
Assets
$1,570,344
Liabilities
$359,206

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

Leadership & pay

40 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BARBARA LUNEAU (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • KARA ARMANO (CHAPTER PRES)
  • ARIANA BIRDSEYE (CHAPTER PRES)
  • STEPHEN BRANT (CHAPTER PRES)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To conserve, protect and restore Colorado's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.

What it reported doing in 2024

Restoration of coldwater habitat and education of members, the general public and decision-making bodies on issues relating to river conservation. Program accomplishments this year include helping secure passage of legislation for protection of Colorado waters and wetlands; assisting the us forest service in constructing fish barriers for native trout restoration projects; supporting local tu chapters on stream management plan efforts to develop collaborative projects for improved stewardship; and delivering effective youth programming including stream girls, trout in the classroom, and the annual youth conservation camp to more than 25,000 students, parents and educators.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 69% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.6%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 86.5%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.8%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.22; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.6% of revenue deployed · 86.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 40 of 40 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 40 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.