Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 810525336
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Helena, MT, USA
- Phone
- 4062541593
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Alliance/Advocacy Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $871,159
- Expenses
- $706,998
- Assets
- $1,041,832
- Liabilities
- $134,163
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- WHITNEY TAWNEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- WHITNEY TAWNEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $115,100 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 Montana conservation voters education fund educates, engages, and empowers all montanans to protect our clean air, clean water, public lands, and democracy.
What it reported doing in 2024
Community organizing, outreach and list enhancement: the mcv education fund engages and mobilizes all montanans through grassroots advocacy, organizing and multimedia campaigns. We utilize several strategies to engage the public, including collecting signatures for petitions, conducting surveys and sending canvassers to knock doors on-the-ground. We join community events to expand our reach and hold our own events to connect with our supporters. To reach a broader audience, we utilize traditional media including earned and paid placements in state and local newspapers as well as video and social media. We strive to make our messages inclusive to all communities, including underserved communities, communities of color, rural and young people.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 97% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 64
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 62
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 61.3%; rating input score 61
- Program expense ratio: 74.6%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: $13.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th 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: 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: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 18.8%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.47; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.1%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 61.3% of revenue deployed · 74.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $527K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $115K · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: 4 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 55/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.