Pony Express Council-boy Scouts of America

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
440546279
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Saint Joseph, MO, USA
Phone
8162331351
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,688,419
Expenses
$1,745,410
Assets
$6,277,709
Liabilities
$218,647

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

Leadership & pay

50 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ALAN FRANKS (MEMBERSCOUT EXECUTIVESECRETARY): $225,841 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Prepare young people in northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas to lead effectively and make ethical choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the scout oath and law.

What it reported doing in 2025

The council is a not-for-profit organization devoted to promoting, within the territory covered by the charter from time to time granted it by scouting america and in accordance with the congressional charter, bylaws, rules & regs, the scouting program, the ability of youth to do things for themselves and others, training them in scoutcraft, and teaching them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues. The council also prepares them to make ethical choices over their lifetimes and achieve their full potential using the methods which are now in common use by scouting america. The council provided 6 weeks of summer camp. They had 883 youth and 443 adults attend. They had one weekend each of webelos & cub resident camp of which 177 youth and adults attended. There were 4 shooting sports events held in 2025 with a total of approximately 235 participants. The council delivered the scouting program to 1,306 youth members in 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The program-spending lines do not add up, so the filing cannot show reliably whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
  • 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 92
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 91.4%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $23.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Scored; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 98%; rating input score 98; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.4%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.6; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.9%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -5.4% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 91.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 49 of 50 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $226K · 50 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 59/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.