Northern Alaska Environmental Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237438038
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Fairbanks, AK, USA
- Phone
- 9074525021
- Rating
- 69
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $895,417
- Expenses
- $1,090,861
- Assets
- $1,676,890
- Liabilities
- $72,137
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KRYSTAL LAPP (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- ELISABETH DABNEY (EXECUTIVE DI): $99,240 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Since 1971, the northern Alaska environmental center has promoted environmental conservation and sustainable resource stewardship in interior and arctic Alaska through education and advocacy.
What it reported doing in 2024
The arctic program advocates for habitat and wildlife protections in the arctic national wildlife refuge and the national petroleum reserve-Alaska and marine mammal and migratory waterfowl habitat protection in the arctic ocean and outer continental shelf. Advocacy and grassroots organizing are done through collaborations with local tribes; state and national coalition work; and active public participation in comment submissions and at hearings that affect wild habitats. The arctic program produces educational outreach materials such as maps, images, videos, newsletters, and brochures to convey that arctic and interior Alaska contain some of americas most special places-unspoiled landscapes with a diversity of healthy ecosystems, wildlife, and indigenous cultures that have thrived off the land for centuries. The arctic program and northern center work to preserve the quality of life for all inhabitants-now and for future generations.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% 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 total spending goes to programs and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 52
- Transparency & Controls: 88
- Accountability: 74
- Sustainability: 32
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 60.6%; rating input score 61
- Program expense ratio: 43.3%; rating input score 43
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 94%; rating input score 94; 41st 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -21.8%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.54; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.1%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 60.6% of revenue deployed · 43.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $473K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $99K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 43/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 32/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.