Missoula Writing Collaborative
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 810505084
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2011
- Location
- Missoula, MT, USA
- Phone
- 4065493348
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Humanities Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $333,558
- Expenses
- $322,484
- Assets
- $60,486
- Liabilities
- $6,410
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Barbie Beaton (Vice President)
- Cynthia Manning (President)
Highest reported compensation
- CAROLINE SIMMS (Executive Dir.): $62,500 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We partner with schools and communities to teach the imaginative power of language. We embrace creativity, empowerment, inclusion, and excellence. We build communities of hope and compassion through writing.
What it reported doing in 2024
MWC writers taught poetry and creative writing to more than 2,200 public school students in 34 schools in eight counties across western Montana. Over the course of 12 week residencies, they taught students to write clearly, descriptively, and enthusiastically, and to learn how to leverage the power of language.In July of 2024, more than 70 young people gathered for two weeks of summer camp. Campers worked on writing prompts in workshops each morning, then participated in a variety of activities in the afternoon.MWC also offered more than three series of classes for adults titled Writers Room. These consisted of one day and multi-week sessions with different class topics. All of these programs support our mission to partner with schools and communities to teach the imaginative power of language.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 74% 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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 67
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 74
- Sustainability: 31
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 63.7%; rating input score 64
- Program expense ratio: 65.8%; rating input score 66
- Fundraising efficiency: $122.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.3%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.19; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 19.4%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 63.7% of revenue deployed · 65.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $212K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $62K · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 15 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.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.