The Pittsburgh Voyager Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
251669347
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2010
Forms available
Form 990 2010
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone
4122312712
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,300,781
Expenses
$1,142,475
Assets
$4,642,181
Liabilities
$1,338,895

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2010. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2010. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To connect people to their environment through river education experiences. Riverquest is an award-winning not-for-profit education organization offering river-based educational programs for students, teachers, and the community. Riverquest also provides a range of public programs, including interpretive cruises and private charters for businesses, organizations and the public.

What it reported doing in 2010

Adventure voyages for schools & groups: short studies engage groups of all ages. Titles include "it's alive ecoadventure;" "bridges of pittsburgh; traveling the nautical road;" "otters in the water;" "world environment day: pittsburgh's human/nature." teacher workshops (6.0 hours act 48 -teacher continuing education): teachers board explorer, to explore the world of freshwater ecology. The session's agenda includes hands-on activities that provide rich and locally relevant content in environmental science, and teaching strategies that emphasize guided inquiry as a tool for classroom implementation. College programs: colleges and universities can arrange for a specialized education program to enhance undergraduate and graduate courses, laboratories and research projects.public tours and summer programs: provides a way for the public to engage with the rivers and the environment on weekends and during summer months. Summer camps serve 100-200 students per year, in day camp and residential versions.accomplishments: since launching programs in 1995 as pittsburgh voyager, rq has served nearly 85,000 individuals through onboard education programming. More than 64,000 elementary, middle and high school students representing 239 schools from 66 school districts in 11 western Pennsylvania counties have participated in standards-based learning programs, with themes ranging from environmental science and regional history to physical science and mathematics. Along with students, more than 2,500 teachers and college students and 17,000 members of the general public have participated in riverquest programs. During june 30, 2010 riverquest served 4,632 students and 8,189 people in the community. Rq service area includes a 10-county region of southwestern Pennsylvania and extends to eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia. Since 1995, more than 80,000 people have experienced riverquest's unique floating classrooms during school and public programs.goals:-help students and the public understand issues of sustainability as it relates to the carrying capacities of the earth's linked natural systems.-inspire students to think of their communities, the environment and the entire pittsburgh region from new perspectives.-challenge children and adults to be responsible stewards of the regional and global environment.-offer opportunities for a diverse cross-section of the community to enjoy and celebrate the region's renewed interest in its rivers as a source of economic strength for the future and a source of regional identity for current and future generations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 60th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.2%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.06; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 35.6% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $915K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $53K · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2009 to 2010
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.