Friends of Nevada Wilderness

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
880211763
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Sparks, NV, USA
Phone
7753247667
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,949,529
Expenses
$1,873,649
Assets
$1,096,884
Liabilities
$84,319

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SHAARON NETHERTON (EXECUTIVE DI): $86,052 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Friends of Nevada wilderness (fnw) works in partnership with volunteers and others to protect Nevada's wilderness and wildlife. Fnw is dedicated to preserving all qualified Nevada public lands as wilderness, protecting these wildlands from ongoing threats, educating the public about the values of and need for wilderness, and improving the management and restoration of wild lands.

What it reported doing in 2024

Wilderness education and outreach program: we celebrated our 40th anniversary as a non-profit organization throughout the year we designed and printed two newsletters, produced the 2025 wild Nevada calendar, sent monthly e-newsletters and numerous alerts and event invitations to our supporters. We hosted two alternative spring break programs for youth; a wild speaker series, the wild and scenic film festival, the black rock rendezvous and national public lands day events and a dark sky festival, along with outreach at burning man. We participated in numerous tabling events and volunteer fairs with patagonia and local colleges. Our save starry skies license plate became available for Nevada drivers. Additional stories, videos, and photos can be viewed on our website, instagram, facebook and youtube.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.6%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 78.8%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $249.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.9%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.59; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.6% of revenue deployed · 78.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $86K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.