Lewis & Clark Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
810471734
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Great Falls, MT, USA
Phone
4068997993
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Federated Giving Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$292,273
Expenses
$212,537
Assets
$1,528,261
Liabilities
$19,514

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELIZABETH MOORE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR-RETIRED)
  • KELLY PALADINO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR-INCOMING)
  • SARA MAYBEN (PRESIDENT)
  • LYNN ROHRER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • THOMAS RISBERG (PRESIDENT - OUTGOING)
  • BECKY YOUNKIN (PRESIDENT UNTIL 03/25)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELIZABETH MOORE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR-RETIRED): $61,500 total reported compensation
  • KELLY PALADINO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR-INCOMING): $36,243 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To champion the efforts of the lewis and clark interpretive center which educates the public about the saga of the corps of discovery, the people they encountered and the wild lands they explored.

What it reported doing in 2024

The lewis & clark foundation operates the portage cache store at the lewis and clark interpretive center. The portage cache store sells books and art covering the lewis & clark expedition as well as related native american events/historical lore and also sells period items. Items sold in the store are intended to provide visitors to the lewis and clark interpretive center with an opportunity for expanding upon the educational experience provided at the lewis and clark interpretive center. Any profits from the store are used to support the mission of the lewis & clark foundation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 87% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.3%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 59.4%; rating input score 59
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 27.3%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.19; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 46%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.3% of revenue deployed · 59.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $126K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $62K · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 59/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.