Smokies Life
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 620576032
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Gatlinburg, TN, USA
- Phone
- 8654367318
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $8,804,233
- Expenses
- $9,327,896
- Assets
- $14,175,023
- Liabilities
- $961,605
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JACQUELINE HARP (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
- LAUREL REMATORE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- LAUREL REMATORE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $177,547 total reported compensation
- ZAK LANCASTER (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $111,459 total reported compensation
- JACQUELINE HARP (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $44,584 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 smokies life supports the perpetual preservation of the great smoky mountains national park and the national park system by promoting greater public understanding and appreciation through education, interpretation, and research.
What it reported doing in 2024
Since inception, the purpose of the smokies life is to support the preservation of the great smoky mountains national park. Through sales, labor, donations, and volunteer efforts, smokies life provides the national park service with additional tools for fulfilling its mission.smokies life is a nonprofit organization authorized by congress to support the park's educational, scientific, and historical programs. Our mission is to enhance public enjoyment and understanding of the great smoky mountains national park.to accomplish this goal smokies life participates in a variety of annual activities that include: distribution and publication of educational books and guides, funding visitor center exhibits and artifact collections, sponsoring free historic demonstrations and festivals, funding the park's library, and helping fund the environmental education program at the institute at tremont. Publications, in-person and online sales, and membership dues sustain these operations.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Membership-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 77% for direct work, and 23% for grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - 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: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 77.3%; rating input score 77
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -5.9%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.52; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.6%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 77.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 15 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $7.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $178K · 17 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.