The Steamboat Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
262096621
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2012
Location
Steamboat Springs, CO, USA
Phone
9704390741
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,978,062
Expenses
$2,058,778
Assets
$4,491,924
Liabilities
$2,800,334

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JENNIFER SCHUBERT-AKIN (Chairman): $173,063 total reported compensation
  • HADLEY MANNING (EXECUTIVE VP): $118,050 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 steamboat institute promotes america's first principles and inspires active involvement in the defense of liberty

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, Steamboat Institute continued a remarkable period of growth in the national reach and impact of its four major programs: Campus Liberty Tour:- 11 debates hosted on college campuses across America- 1,491 in-person attendees- 10,404 livestream viewers- 111,000 online views of full debate videos- 3 million online views of short video clips from the debatesSI Journalism Fellowship for Public Policy and American Exceptionalism:- Fellows completed 456 media appearances, including 256 on major networks (Fox News, CNN, Fox Business, MSNBC, News Nation)- 247 million viewers and listeners reached- 14th fellowship awarded to Carine Hajjar, member of the editorial board of the Boston GlobeEmerging Leaders Council (ages 20-29):- 45 members representing 15 states and Washington, D.C.- 4th Annual Leadership Summit hosted in May 2025 in Washington, D.C.- Members are becoming influential public speakers and writers, with pieces published in USA Today, TEDx Talks, and more- Members stepping into leadership roles in their local communities, states and Washington, D.C., including the U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture17th Annual Freedom Conference held in Beaver Creek, Colorado, in August 2025:- 340 registrants from across America- 34 scholarships awarded to allow young leaders to attend- 2 million online views of video clips of speakers and panels- Speakers included Fox News Chief Political Anchor Bret Baier, Emmy Award-winning sports reporter Michele Tafoya, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and many moreIn 2025, Steamboat Institute successfully executed a campaign to raise $1 million for its Endowment for the Future of Liberty, part of a long-term goal to secure the financial future of the organization.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.6%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 89.9%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $35.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

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; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 30.9%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.18; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.62; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.1%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.8% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.8% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.6% of revenue deployed · 89.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $173K · 12 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $185K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.