Montana Wildlife Federation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 810303948
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Missoula, MT, USA
- Phone
- 4064179909
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Alliance/Advocacy Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $675,423
- Expenses
- $648,541
- Assets
- $482,612
- Liabilities
- $33,027
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CHRIS SERVHEEN (President)
- TOM PUCHLERZ (PAST PRESIDENT)
- MIKE MERSHON (PRESIDENT ELECT)
Highest reported compensation
- FRANCIS SZOLLOSI (Executive Dir.): $92,800 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 wildlife federation is a statewide conservation organization dedicated to protecting wildlife, wildlife habitat, and public access for outdoor recreation.
What it reported doing in 2024
Wildlife protection: mwf informed hunters, anglers and other conservationists about the importance of scientific management and conservation of Montana's fish and wildlife resources. We helped increase protection for elk, deer and other big game as well as threatened and endangered species. Our outreach also raised public awareness of the need to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered.habitat conservation: through outreach and public education, mwf helped ensure that habitat was protected for the benefit of fish and wildlife as well as hunters, anglers and other wildlife enthusiasts. This includes:-supporting efforts to acquire more public land and protect habitat through voluntary conservation of private land.-fighting to protect backcountry roadless lands to provide wildlife habitat and hunting opportunity.-promoting local collaborative efforts to improve public land management.-preventing the sale or transfer of public lands.outdoor access: mwf promoted greater access for hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation and educated people about attacks on public road use, stream access, and other legal public property rights. We also worked to improve relations between private landowners and hunters, including expansion of state and federal incentive programs for private landowners.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 94% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 41
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 76.7%; rating input score 77
- Program expense ratio: 79.1%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $10.93 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 41; 41st 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: 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: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 4%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.74; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14.3%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 76.7% of revenue deployed · 79.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $513K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $93K · 17 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 41/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.