Montana Post Secondary Educational Opportunities Council

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
810458218
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Missoula, MT, USA
Phone
4065313531
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$297,743
Expenses
$296,394
Assets
$109,089
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRISSY STOKES (Vice President)
  • KATELYN MARSIK (President)
  • LINDY J WARDEN (Past President)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMY LEARY (Executive Dir.): $101,957 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Montana post secondary educational opportunities council is a non-profit organization representing the 26 institutions of higher eduction across the state of Montana. Mpseoc also works closely with the almost 200 high schools in Montana along with the 300+/- counselors at the high schools. The mission of the organization is the promotion of higher education to students, parents, school counselors, etc. With the awareness of the post secondary opportunities available throughout the state of Montana and beyond. Together helping students reach their dreams.

What it reported doing in 2025

Montana college fairs: the september college fairs, the spring Montana tribal college fairs, and the guide to higher education are comprehensive tools to help students learn about their opitions after high school. In september, there are three weeks of college fairs that are held across the state each year with a total of 18 fairs. In the spring, the Montana tribal colleges host 7 fairs at each of their campuses. This team effort allows students to see what options are available after high school. These events also help train students on the proper steps to take to achieve these higher education goals and also helps offer the helpful personnel to get them the correct information. Tribal colleges that host these events are: aaniih nakoda college, blackfeet community college, chief dull knife college, fort peck community college, little bighorn college, salish kootenai college, and stone child college. Every Montana high school sophomore, junior, and senior students are invited to participate at no costs, as well as, all counselors, parents, community memebers, and many transfer students along with younger students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 80% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 38
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 42.4%; rating input score 42
  • Program expense ratio: 42.7%; rating input score 43
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: 0.5%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 34.4%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.8% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 42.4% of revenue deployed · 42.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $126K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $102K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 43/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.