Noble Research Institute

Legal name: Noble Research Institute Llc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
730606209
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-PF 2017, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Ardmore, OK, US
Phone
580-223-5810
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$45,984,919
Expenses
$47,917,376
Assets
$140,475,628
Liabilities
$12,986,123

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEVEN R RHINES (PRESIDENT/CHIEF EXEC OFFICER)
  • A JILL WALLACE (VICE PRESIDENT & CFO)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEVEN R RHINES (PRESIDENT/CHIEF EXEC OFFICER): $822,420 total reported compensation
  • A JILL WALLACE (VICE PRESIDENT & CFO): $453,143 total reported compensation
  • JEFFREY S MOEN (GEN COUNSEL & CORPORATE SECRETARY): $383,162 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Every Acre Matters. Healthy soils are the foundation for productive grazing lands and profitable farms and ranches. We work every day to save our grazing lands by promoting land stewardship through management, building soil health and keeping farmers and ranchers on the land.

What it reported doing in 2025

The institute conducts applied agricultural research to advance regenerative ranching and improve the productivity, profitability and resilience of the nation's grazing lands. Working with producers and universities nationwide, research focuses on soil health, grazing systems, livestock production, natural resource management, and producer well-being. Findings from studies on working ranches are shared through publications, conferences and educational programs to inform producer decision-making and support adoption of regenerative management.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 87.7%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.26 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 97.5%; rating input score 97; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 9 of 9 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: 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: -4.2%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.93; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 1 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $42M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $822K · 18 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $17.1M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 41 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 208 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.