National Forest Homeowners

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
931162023
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Talent, OR, USA
Phone
8006699971
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$379,777
Expenses
$406,425
Assets
$412,749
Liabilities
$68,476

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MEREDITH RANDALL (PRESIDENT)
  • KEVIN ORTH (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • KAREN SHEA (DIRECTOR)
  • MEREDITH RANDALL (PRESIDENT)
  • DONN SETTERQUIST (SECRETARY)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

National Forest Homeowners is a member-directed organization representing cabin-owner recreation residence permittees on our national forests. NFH provides leadership, member information and assistance, and advocacy for continuation of all recreation residences. It is dedicated to educating its members and others in sound science stewardship of our forests.

What it reported doing in 2025

Nfh began a new initiative in 2024, the cabin program restoration act (cpra). The cpra is a legislative effort intended to strengthen the recreation residence program by restoring and protecting permit holder rights, prevent losses and maximize replacement of cabins lost to natural disasters, and maintain the program at a sustainable level of 15,000 cabins. The cpra will enhance the cabin program's primary purpose of bringing family-oriented family recreation to our national forests, while preserving the historical significance of the cabin community and continuing to provide significant economic benefits to the rural communities near our cabin locations. In addition, the cpra is intended to streamline usda forest service practices to improve program administrative efficiency and effectiveness.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 93% 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

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.4%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 84.3%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -7%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.02; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 87.4% of revenue deployed · 84.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $343K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.