David Thompson Search & Rescue

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
030522547
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2024
Location
Libby, MT, USA
Phone
4062531036
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Search and Rescue Squads

Reported finances

Revenue
$143,774
Expenses
$33,820
Assets
$109,954
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JON OBST (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • VALERIE ALBERT (VICE PRESIDE)
  • JON OBST (PRESIDENT)
  • EMILY PAULEY (SECRETARY)

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

Provide dedicated search and rescue services to the community ensuring safety and well-being of individuals in distress. Committed to training of volunteers in using advance technology, proven tactics and community collaboration to locate, assist and recover those in need.

What it reported doing in 2025

Responded to calls involving backcountry rescue of hikers and hunters involving atvs, radios, trucks, first aid supplies, and litter to transport subjects. Responsed to water calls involving deployment of two boats, personal watercrafts, and radios. All includes countless hours personnel put in to do their best to help the public in a safe manner.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 100% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 47
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 23.5%; rating input score 24
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 6th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • 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: 76.5%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.25; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 23.5% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 38 of 13 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $34K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 13 of 14 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 24/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Independent members within voting members did not reconcile in the filed values.