Max Higbee Community Recreation Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911275451
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Bellingham, WA, USA
Phone
3607468724
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,308,415
Expenses
$1,320,550
Assets
$800,500
Liabilities
$13,553

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Riannon Bardsley (Executive Director)
  • Amanda White (President)
  • Torhil Ramsay (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Riannon Bardsley (Executive Director): $83,196 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Community-based recreation programs for teens and adults with disabilities to promote enjoyment and enrichment, personal growth, greater independence and community involvement, and life-long learning.

What it reported doing in 2025

The seasonal Higbee Hikers Program meets every Saturday and runs 8 months out of the year to support participants in outdoor recreation and to increase access to local trails and paths. This program works to remove barriers and promotes inclusivity in the outdoor community. Staff are trained to plan accessible routes, offer mobility assistance to participants, create route modifications as needed, and provide individual support and encouragement to participants. Like all of MHC's programs, the Higbee Hikers Program incorporates education, life-long learning, and transferable skills. The program teaches participants how to use the bus to access local trails so that they may access those trails independently or with other caregivers outside of the program. Public transportation is a valuable skill that benefits participants in their social, recreational, school, and work lives as well. The program offers educational experiences through topics like plant identification, outdoor skills, and trail etiquette. In 2024, Higbee Hikers served 21 individuals with developmental disabilities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 81% 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

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: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.5%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 85.5%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -0.9%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.61; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.3%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.5% of revenue deployed · 85.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $83K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 45 of 45 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.