Pine Mountain Settlement School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
610444789
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Bledsoe, KY, USA
Phone
6065583571
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,327,946
Expenses
$1,388,683
Assets
$10,620,549
Liabilities
$104,464

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JASON BRASHEAR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JASON BRASHEAR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $92,847 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Pine mountain settlement school (pmss) enriches lives and fosters community by offering experiential education focused on environmental literacy, sustainable agriculture, and appalachia's diverse people, art, and culture.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our goals are to build environmental literacy through immersive experiences with nature, serving as a model for environmental stewardship and education, to share and model the power of sustainable agriculture, and to celebrate, share, and support appalachia's diverse communities, cultures, arts, and stories.

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 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: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.3%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 66%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th 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: 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.6%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.65; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.7%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.3% of revenue deployed · 66% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $916K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $93K · 19 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.