Friends of Big Bend National Park

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
752670331
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Big Bend National Park, TX, USA
Phone
5125291149
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Private Grantmaking Foundations

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,349,066
Expenses
$480,479
Assets
$2,999,467
Liabilities
$7,652

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AMANDA BILLING (PRESIDENT)
  • LEO TYNAN (PRESIDENT-ELECT)
  • LOREN RIEMER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • LOREN RIEMER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CEO): $151,089 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To preserve, enrich and conserve the unique resources of big bend national park and the rio grande wild and scenic river through philanthropic efforts and in partnership with the national park service.

What it reported doing in 2024

Big bend conservancy supports big bend national park with monetary contributions and by supporting and promoting awareness of the need for environmental conservation. This year, we continued to acquire land on the park's western boundary for a future park boundary adjustment, invested in improvements in the park's sustainability efforts, and began restoration of the historic castolon site.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 87% 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: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 28.8%; rating input score 29
  • Program expense ratio: 73.7%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $171.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st 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: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 64.4%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.24; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.4%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.2% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 28.8% of revenue deployed · 73.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $354K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $151K · 22 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.