The Whidbey Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311518700
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Clinton, WA, USA
Phone
3603411884
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,528,188
Expenses
$1,643,454
Assets
$4,831,600
Liabilities
$494,006

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CASEY DILLOWAY (CO-PRESIDENT)
  • DIANA SANDOVAL (CO-PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SUSANNAH ROSE WOODS (CO ED FROM A): $59,140 total reported compensation
  • HILLARIE MADDOX (CO ED FROM A): $30,406 total reported compensation
  • ANANDA VALENZUELA (INTERIM ED T): $22,458 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 whidbey institute is an educational non-profit with a mission to cultivate place, nurture community, and co-create experiences which grow our human capacity for compassionate, courageous action. Our guiding purpose is to serve as a home for ongoing inquiry, learning, and transformation in response to the unprecedented challenges of our time. Our 100+ acre campus has been a home for transformational learning since 1972.

What it reported doing in 2024

The whidbey institute is a place-based, nonprofit center and a home for transformational learning. We partner with a network of program leaders working in the areas of generative leadership, ecosystem vitality, community resilience, and more to offer one-day and multi-day workshops, conferences, and retreats. Our 106-acre conservation forest campus on south whidbey island is open to the public and features integrated gardens and a four-mile trail network.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 66% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.7%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 80.6%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -7.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.94; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.8%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.7% of revenue deployed · 80.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $59K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.