The Friends of Irish Studies in the West

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261391012
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020
Location
Missoula, MT, USA
Phone
4067289288
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$245,073
Expenses
$291,611
Assets
$135,781
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN MONAHAN (President)

People named in this filing

  • PAT BYRNE (Director)
  • CHRIS BEHAN (Director)
  • SCOTT JOHNSON (Director)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To promote, encourage & preserve irish culture in mt and northern rockies; to gather resources to support the irish studies program at u of mt; to offer grants to support the study of irish languare and culture.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Friends of Irish Studies Activities for 2024The Friends of Irish Studies had a very busy 2024 organizing and supporting cultural events, sponsoring language courses, leading tours to Ireland, funding programs at the University of Montana, creating educational opportunities, and partnering with ACIS to host the American Conference for Irish Studies.Educational and Institutional Support1.The Friends funded the creation of a virtual exchange between elementary and high schools in Montana and in Ireland. Hosted by Inspired classroom, the project facilitated an exchange between 14 schools and ran for six weeks in the spring, 20242.The Friends donated the funding to the University of Montana to bring two Fulbright Teaching Assistants in the Irish language to campus for the academic years 2023-24 and 2024-25.3.The Friends donated the funding to UM to offer a 3-credit online course in Irish Traditional Music in the spring, 20244.The Friends donated the funding to UM to offer a 3-credit course in Traditional Irish Song in the fall, 2024 5.The Friends donated the funding to UM to offer a 2-credit course in Irish Traditional Dance in the fall, 20246.The Friends donated the funding to the Butte Silver Bow Archives to support the digitization of records that relate to the history of the Irish in Montana.7.The Friends sponsored online classes for non-traditional students in the spring and fall of 20248.The Friends organized and funded the one-week Irish language immersion course in Butte in July 20249.The Friends partnered with the American Conference for Irish Studies (ACIS) to host the western conference in Missoula in September, 2024Cultural Events1.The Friends hosted the traditional Irish music band, Lnasa, in the UM Recital Hall on 11 March 2024. This was a very successful event that attracted a full house. 2.The Friends partnered with the Ancient Order of Hibernians to organize the annual St. Patricks Day Parade, honor the Irish man and woman of the year, and host the St. Patricks Day banquet. The parade and banquet were a resounding success.3.The Friends sponsored the Mission Mountain Irish Music Camp again in the summer of 2024. Over 100 musicians attended the four-day event.4.Irish Festival. The Friends organized and hosted the Filte Montana Irish festival. Over 3,000 people attended this free event that focused on local musicians, dancers and performers. 5.The Friends donated funding to the Thomas Meagher Hurling Club in Missoula for the purchase of equipment.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 96.6%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • 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: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -19%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 96.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 11 board members independent · 0 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $282K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.