Indiana Karst Conservancy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311185033
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone
3178825420
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$71,877
Expenses
$21,968
Assets
$1,857,975
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Matt Selig (President)

People named in this filing

  • Bill Baus (Director)
  • Bruce Bowman (Director)
  • Brandon Chasteen (Director)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Indiana Karst Conservancy is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of caves and karst features in Indiana and other areas of the world. The Conservancy encourages research and promotes education related to karst and its proper, environmentally compatible use.

What it reported doing in 2025

Educational Services - The IKC has many volunteers who provide educational services to school groups, conservation groups, youth groups (e.g., Scout troops, developers, government agencies, and the general public who live in karst areas). In 2025 volunteers organized or presented at a number of events. In addition to our direct outreach, we have participated in authoring newspaper articles, have educational materials on our website, and have provided educational opportunities through our property holdings. The IKC's seven properties provide visitors with various opportunities including "wild" caving experiences, interpretive hiking on trails, and easy access to a large karst spring/resurgence. We also publish a quarterly newsletter to promote karst education opportunities and report on accomplishments. This newsletter is distributed for free to our members, supporters, and regional/national organizations and government agencies. It is also available (along with all back issues) on our public website.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 86
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 37.8%; rating input score 38
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 69.4%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 84.58; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.4% per year; rating input score 0; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -17.9% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 37.8% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $22K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 38/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.