The Association of National Park Rangers Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581494811
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2023
Location
Marana, AZ, USA
Phone
5204443973
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$177,715
Expenses
$121,869
Assets
$525,218
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael Pflaum (President)
  • John W Wade (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Melissa DeVaughn (Business Manager/Publisher): $28,937 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Association of National Park Rangers is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization created to communicate for, about, and with National Park Service employees of all disciplines; to promote and enhance the professions, spirit, and mission of National Park Service employees; to support management and the perpetuation of the National Park Service and the National Park System; and to provide a forum for professional enrichment.

What it reported doing in 2025

Salary for business manager and publisher of Ranger Magazine

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 72% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 51
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.7%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 31.4%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.31; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.7%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.2% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.7% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $122K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $29K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 41 of 42 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.