Kawerak Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
920047009
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Nome, AK, USA
Phone
9074434231
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$86,867,929
Expenses
$86,167,052
Assets
$96,964,582
Liabilities
$45,511,029

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

Leadership & pay

36 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MELANIE BAHNKE (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MELANIE BAHNKE (PRESIDENT): $661,303 total reported compensation
  • JOHN BIOFF (GENERAL COUNSEL): $419,972 total reported compensation
  • DONNA RAY (CFO): $399,752 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Promote the social and economic welfare of members of iras and traditional councils

What it reported doing in 2024

Education and employment supportive services division: the education and employment supportive services division eessd is designed to increase the number of trained educated and employed tribal members and to provide early childhood services to address the needs of children and families. Kawerak provides financial support comprehensive case management education and training and technical assistance to assist tribal members in reaching their educational objectives or secure employment or complete employment goals to become self-sufficient.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 92% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 70% for direct work, and 30% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.8%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 81.2%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: 99.8%; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 0.8%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.13; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.47; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.8% of revenue deployed · 81.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $70M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $661K · 36 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $16.6M reported
  • Consistency: 48 of 48 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 66 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 31 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.