Hell Creek Paleontological Society
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 931937024
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2023–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2025
- Location
- Spearfish, SD, USA
- Phone
- 6052101275
- Rating
- 97
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Physical & Earth Sciences,
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $13,556
- Expenses
- $13,707
- Assets
- $24,337
- Liabilities
- $1,834
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Jason Troy Mitchell (President)
- Shannon Mutschelknaus (Vice President)
People named in this filing
- David Howe (Secretary)
- David Muddiman (Treasurer)
- Jason Troy Mitchell (President)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Hell Creek Paleontological Society is a organization focused on the study of fossils with the goals of inspiring and furthering the educational aspirations of our community through knowledge and scholarship. We are open to everyone, regardless of age, experience or educational background. We argue that the study of fossils, fossil hunting, and fossil collecting are great ways to motivate children of all ages to explore the complex natural world around them. Indeed dinosaurs are often the path to a lifetime pursuit of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The HCPS intends to support and encourage all like-minded families, students, educators and researchers to advance our knowledge of Earth history.
What it reported doing in 2025
Helping academic research through scholarships, guest lecture programs and direct funds to researchers for approved scientific studies.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 66% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 82% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and liabilities are high compared with assets.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 100
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 46
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -1.1%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.78; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 83.7% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 31.6% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 4 filed program accomplishments · $14K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
- 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.