Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411921126
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Minneapolis, MN, USA
Phone
6122787157
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Economic Development

Reported finances

Revenue
$16,548,908
Expenses
$16,739,727
Assets
$14,804,349
Liabilities
$2,304,846

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROLF NORDSTROM (PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • LOUISE MILTICH (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)
  • PATRICE LAHLUM (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • BRENDAN JORDAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • BRIAN ROSS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • TREVOR DRAKE (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROLF NORDSTROM (PRESIDENT & CEO): $318,232 total reported compensation
  • HUONG NGUYEN (CFO): $262,282 total reported compensation
  • LOUISE MILTICH (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT): $227,655 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 great plains institute's (gpi) mission is to accelerate the transition to net-zero carbon emissions for the benefit of people, the economy, and the environment.

What it reported doing in 2024

Industrial innovation and carbon managementfossil fuels today provide the vast majority of our electricity, heating/cooling and transportation fuel (87% globally) and will likely continue to play a significant role for decades. Yet burning coal, oil, and natural gas is also a primary cause of global warming and climate change, and a range of other unintended and negative outcomes. Gpi works to develop market-based strategies for reducing harmful fossil fuel emissions and effective transition strategies for industries and communities that depend on fossil fuels. Focus areas include: expanding education, dialogue and outreach on federal carbon regulation implementation by convening and facilitating the stakeholder groups of the midcontinent states environmental and energy regulators (mseer), pjm states group, and the midwestern power sector collaborative (mpsc); helping shape the national discourse surrounding the clean power plan by presenting to numerous groups and conferences around the us; and supporting the deployment of carbon capture and sequestration with enhanced oil recovery (ccs-eor) through incentives and education by convening of the national enhanced oil recovery initiative (neori) and the state ccs-eor group.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% 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: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.9%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 85.6%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.2%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.6%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.4% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.9% of revenue deployed · 85.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $14.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $318K · 18 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 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: 7 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.