Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 743202365
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Sandpoint, ID, USA
- Phone
- 2089469127
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Natural Resources Conservation and Protection
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $242,154
- Expenses
- $276,792
- Assets
- $244,329
- Liabilities
- $548
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MARK COCHRAN (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- MARK COCHRAN (PRESIDENT)
- CHRIS COMPTON (DIRECTOR)
- CELEST GRACE (SECRETARY)
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
To protect the scotchman peaks for future generations through wilderness designation, ongoing stewardship and education.
What it reported doing in 2024
Hikes: in 2025, between winter and summer 16 volunteers led 25 group hikes with 197 participants (including 35 youth). They experienced the splendor of the scotchmans and increased their knowledge of the nature around them. Educational topics included holiday wreath making, hiking with kids, wildlife tracking, moonlight hikes, beginner hiking education, family camping, foraging, wildflower/plant id, history of a fire lookout, and an overnight backpack. Friends: we added about 560 new friends for a total at the end of our fiscal year of just over 12,360 friends who believe in wilderness designation for the scotchman peaks. About 80% of these friends are in north Idaho, western Montana, or eastern Washington. Trail maintenance: we had 17 unique project days, with 48 unique volunteers who put in 736 hours to remove 147 trees and improve tread on 48 miles of trail. Trail ambassadors: 28 unique volunteer trail ambassadors spent 295 hours over 28 days, talking with 920 hikers on the scotchman peak summit trail in summer of 2025. Winter tracks: in the winter of 2025, 39 volunteers spent 329 hours on our winter tracks youth education program. The program involved 495 students, 28 teachers and 80 chaperones from 13 elementary schools from bonner, lincoln and sanders counties. Connecting with nature has the power to ignite the curiosity and a love for wild places which can transform a child's life.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 81% 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
STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 34
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 97.6%; rating input score 98
- Program expense ratio: 85.3%; rating input score 85
- Fundraising efficiency: $13.94 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th 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: 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: 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: -14.3%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 97.6% of revenue deployed · 85.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $236K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 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 48/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.