Isaac W Bernheim Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 610444651
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Clermont, KY, USA
- Phone
- 5029558512
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Forest Conservation
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $7,161,897
- Expenses
- $6,640,496
- Assets
- $81,878,568
- Liabilities
- $632,954
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
26 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KURT MASON (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
- MARK WOURMS (PRESIDENT/CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- MARK WOURMS (PRESIDENT/CEO): $220,105 total reported compensation
- REBECCA BRADY (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $172,218 total reported compensation
- MELISSA RALEY (DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT): $128,057 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
See schedule o for mission statement
What it reported doing in 2024
Bernheim encompasses 16,500 acres and is the largest privately held forest in the eastern united states dedicated to nature based education and conservation. Annually, bernheim engages over 300,000 visitors and provides nature based education to over 10,000 students and their families. Bernheim's mission: connecting people with nature is realized on and off-site with activities including visitors exploring our scenic woodlands crossed by over 40 miles of hiking trails; attends award-winning nature based education programs; volunteering in bernheim's 600 acre arboretum; meet artists participating in bernheim's forty + years artist-in-residency program; grows up healthy and discovery of nature in our 17 acre innovative play zone: play cosystem; enjoys a meal harvested from bernheims edible garden and prepared at isaac's cafe.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 71% 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: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 69
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 75.4%; rating input score 75
- Program expense ratio: 74.6%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- 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: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 7.3%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 12.33; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.8%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 75.4% of revenue deployed · 74.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $220K · 26 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $775K reported
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.