Rural Engagement and Vitality Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
921375775
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Enterprise, OR, USA
Phone
5419623012
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Employment Procurement Assistance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$378,542
Expenses
$406,454
Assets
$139,479
Liabilities
$100,983

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GRACE DONOVAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • TIM SEYDEL (PRESIDENT)
  • NILS CHRISTOFFERSEN (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • GRACE DONOVAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $92,900 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The rural engagement & vitality center cultivates vibrant and prosperous communities in rural eastern Oregon by connecting university resources with local community needs and creates pathways for graduates to remin in, or return to, eastern Oregon.

What it reported doing in 2024

The rural engagement & vitality center (rev) supports thriving rural communities by making university resources available to rural eastern Oregon communities in support of community-driven initiatives. Rev matches community needs with faculty expertise and hires college students to connect communities with talent while simultaneously offering students hands-on career and professional development opportunities, increasing the likelihood they remain or return to eastern Oregon after graduation. In 2024, rev provided data analysis, policy recommendations, community and youth engagement, and research for ten rural communities within eastern Oregon. (continued on schedule o)in 2024, rev published a preliminary report for the city of joseph updating the city's buildable lands inventory as a first step to address housing scarcity and affordability and was awarded a grant from business Oregon to support traded-sector entrepreneurship in the region. The organization hosted two summer institutes promoting place-based stem education, participated in building civic engagement across urban and rural contexts, and received state and national recognition for work performed in 2023. Rev hired 17 student interns and worked with 40 partners.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 65% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.2%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 84%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $27.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -7.4%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.72; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.9%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 95.4% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 47.5% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 66.8% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.2% of revenue deployed · 84% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $342K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $93K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.