Dream of Wild Health

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411632662
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Minneapolis, MN, USA
Phone
6128744200
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,013,903
Expenses
$2,040,042
Assets
$9,082,570
Liabilities
$360,690

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Neely Snyder (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Neely Snyder (Executive Director): $121,283 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 Dream of Wild Health is to restore health and well-being in the Native community by recovering knowledge of and access to healthy Indigenous foods, medicines, and lifeways. We do this by: creating culturally-based opportunities for youth employment, entrepreneurship and leadership; increasing access to indigenous foods through farm production, sales and distribution; and community organizing and outreach around reclaiming cultural traditions, healthy indigenous food, cooking skills, and policy and systems change. Our programs impact over 15,000 people annually from our youngest community members to our oldest. DWH is one of the leaders of a groundswell movement to reclaim Indigenous sovereignty through food.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Native Youth Education & Leadership program empowers Native youth, ages 821, through year-round, culturally grounded learning and leadership opportunities. Rooted in our farm and community spaces, the program provides a safe, supportive environment where youth connect with the land, learn about regenerative organic agriculture, traditional foodways, and nutrition, and gain critical employment and life skills. Programs include: Cora's Kids (ages 8-12), Garden Warriors (13-18), Youth Leaders (14-18), and Youth Interns (ages 17-21). Our impact is visible and lasting. Many have continued their journeys within DWH, growing into internship roles, seasonal staff positions, and even serving on our Board of Directors. Through Indigenous-led advocacy, outreach, and peer education, our youth are not only learning, they are leading. By centering cultural identity, community connection, and personal growth, this program supports youth in building the confidence, knowledge, and leadership needed to thrive in school, in their communities, and in their futures.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% 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.

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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 82
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 35.3%; rating input score 35
  • Program expense ratio: 65.4%; rating input score 65
  • Fundraising efficiency: $33.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 49.2%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.45; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.9%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.2% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.8% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 35.3% of revenue deployed · 65.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $121K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.