Friends of Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
421417678
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Prairie City, IA, USA
Phone
5153062512
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$200,755
Expenses
$146,080
Assets
$2,686,199
Liabilities
$48

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JORDAN OSTER (President)
  • SHARON TINKER (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • RACHEL RUDEN (PUBLIC RELATION)
  • LOREN LOWN (ADVISORY BOARD)
  • AMANDA YANCY (MEMBERSHIPS)

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

Cooperate with the usfws by increasing public awareness, appreciation and support of the neal smith national wildlife refuge. This includes operation of the nature (book) store, natural resource related scholarships and facilitating expansion of the refuge in cooperation with the usfws and the Iowa natural heritage foundation (inhf.)

What it reported doing in 2024

The friends support college student interns who contribute services as volunteers at the prairie. These services are related to their degree objectives and involve environmental research projects, coordinating public events, and assisting with refuge operations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 71% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.1%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 78.3%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,621.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 27.2%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 18.39; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.5% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.1% of revenue deployed · 78.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $114K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 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.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.