Natural State Council

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237627149
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Little Rock, AR, USA
Phone
5016644780
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Boy Scouts of America

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,659,315
Expenses
$4,727,546
Assets
$16,259,462
Liabilities
$1,045,591

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

98 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TIM CULLEN (PAST COUNCIL PRESIDENT)
  • GORDON SILASKI (VICE PRESIDENT - FINANCE)
  • SHAWN JOHNSON (VICE PRESIDENT - OPERATIONS)
  • MIKE HERNANDEZ (VICE PRESIDENT - MARKETING)
  • MICHAEL HARRELL (VICE PRESIDENT - ADMINISTRATION)
  • ALAN HOPE (VICE PRESIDENT - MEMBERSHIP)

Highest reported compensation

  • SHANNA RICHARDSON (SCOUT EXECUTIVE): $210,000 total reported compensation
  • WILLIAM SWAIM: $108,802 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To prepare young people to make ethical decisions over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the scout oath and law.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Natural State Council, Scouts of America offers the Scouts BSA program to young men and women ages 10 through 17 years old seeking fun, outdoor enrichment with peers of similar interests, yet different backgrounds. Utilizing our goal-oriented, values-based, team-focused activities, our scouts are encouraged to accomplish a variety of engaging and hands on achievements which support the positive character attributes which define the foundation of our flagship program, the Scout Oath and Law. Activities could include Camping, Fishing, Mountain Biking, Hiking, White Water Rafting, Rock Climbing, Shooting Sports, Aquatics Activities, Merit Badge Programs, High Adventure and more. Typically, a Scouts BSA Troop will go on a 3-day campout once a month. Separate High Adventure opportunities are also offered to older scouts through our Venturing BSA and Sea Scout Programs. The overall program is supported by parents, religious, and neighborhood organizations and promis

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 57
  • Accountability: 99
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.2%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 81.8%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 99%; rating input score 99; 27th 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.5%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.44; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.7%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.2% of revenue deployed · 81.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 96 of 97 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $210K · 98 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $871K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.