Running Rivers
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 811625829
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2016
- Location
- Denver, CO, USA
- Phone
- 7202174120
- Rating
- 54
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Service Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $186,526
- Expenses
- $142,319
- Assets
- $465,951
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Kristine Hoffman (President)
- Bryon Powell (Vice President)
People named in this filing
- John Blaschke (Director)
- Chris Sanchez (Director)
- Kristine Hoffman (President)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our mission is to conserve and restore native fish ecosystems by educating and inspiring a diverse community of recreationists to engage in conversation through responsible and thoughtful recreation, informed advocacy and philanthropy, and impactful projects. At Running Rivers, we firmly believe that the best way to ensure the preservation, protection, and maintenance of our irreplaceable public lands and waters is to develop and foster the stewards who will stand up in their defense. Our programs create unique opportunities for the people to experience public lands and waters in novel and fun ways, to expand their depth of understanding of the importance of healthy functioning freshwater ecosystems, and to invest in their time, money and sweat through on-the-ground stewardship projects.
What it reported doing in 2025
The organization will award grants and provide funding for projects that help accomplish their mission such as;* Projects that focus on native fish species and their ecosystems* Projects that provide education on the importance of healthy aquatic ecosystems* Projects that facilitate sustainable access to health aquatic ecosystems* Projects that improve the health of aquatice ecosystems through stream restoration projects and/or restoration of healthy flow regimes* Projects that utilize the organization's program participants as project volunteers
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 61% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 46
- Transparency & Controls: 89
- Accountability: 12
- Sustainability: 73
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 47.5%; rating input score 48
- Program expense ratio: 57.9%; rating input score 58
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 23.7%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.27; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -18.1% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 22.1% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 47.5% of revenue deployed · 57.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 0 of 15 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $82K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 15 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 48/100.
- High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.