Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
205967694
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Missoula, MT, USA
Phone
4065417284
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Transportation Systems

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$416,493
Expenses
$439,216
Assets
$1,032,234
Liabilities
$812,006

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Robert Giordano (Executive Director)
  • Curt Tweedy (Vice President)
  • Dave Morris (President/Treasurer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Robert Giordano (Executive Director): $15,289 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Mission of MIST is to create transportation that is safe, equitable and environmentally sound, fits within the landscape and culture of a particular area, conserves resources, and honors justice, equity, diversity, inclusiveness, accessibility, community health and a local economy. We emphasize and utilize music, art, bicycles, green building materials and techniques, permaculture and biomimicry. MIST values citizen participation, reuse and recycling, environmental stewardship and active transportation. MIST seeks active walking and cycling cultures, extensive transit systems that run on renewable energy, bicycle station and car share options, safe and flowing vehicle movement, networks of greenway corridors that connect people and open space, and an awareness and understanding of transportation issues and impacts. Free Cycles is a program of MIST. Free Cycles provides bikes, parts and help for a healthy community.

What it reported doing in 2024

FREE CYCLES: Provides bicycles, parts, tools, work space, and help for a healthy community. These services lead to increased mobility, exercise, and joy for the people who participate. Our programs are donation-based and available to people of all ages, identities, ethnicities, abilities, and income levels. Serving 25,000 people a year, Free Cycles addresses the need for sustainable and accessible transportation. Free Cycles helps the community with: Open Shop, Build-A-Bike, BikeWell Class, Youth Cycles, Civic Cyles and Social Cycles. The community shop space is open to the public during all hours of operation, which is Wednesday through Saturday, 10am-6pm. This is a free service, yet donations are appreciated.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 97
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.3%; rating input score 99
  • Program expense ratio: 94.2%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $210.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 92; 92nd 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: 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: -5.5%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.35; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.79; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.5% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99.3% of revenue deployed · 94.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $414K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $15K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.