Dog Tag Buddies Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
473759502
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Shepherd, MT, USA
Phone
4069691227
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Services N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$347,799
Expenses
$728,097
Assets
$204,010
Liabilities
$56,151

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELIZABETH BAKER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • ELIZABETH BAKER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • KATRINA GROVE (OPERATIONS DIRECTOR)
  • STEVE BERTRAND (CHAIRMAN)

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

Dog tag buddies pairs veterans with service dogs, putting them through a two-year program supporting mental health. Trainers provide individualized and group instruction to veterans in rural and frontier communities to help build life-long skills, confidence, and social mobility.

What it reported doing in 2024

Dog tag buddies operates statewide with trainers located across Montana, including rural and frontier regions, to remove barriers to participation. Covered program expenses include adoption and veterinary fees, food, training treats, and necessary supplies such as leashes, collars, and kennels. Each veteran-dog team receives professional instruction one or more hours per week for up to two years, with continuous evaluation and mentorship to ensure long-term success. In 2024, dog tag buddies added 25 new dogs and served 42 active veteran-dog teams. More than 1,200 hours of individualized and group instruction were provided, representing in-kind services valued at over $460,000. Adoption and veterinary expenses totaled approximately $19,417. Dog tag buddies remains montanas first and only assistance dogs international (adi)-accredited organization and is committed to the highest standards of service dog training, client care, and animal welfare.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 15
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 80.6%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 26th 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: 80%; rating input score 80; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -109.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -9.6% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.8% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 80.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 10 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $587K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 34/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.