The Wild Fund Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
820537401
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Hailey, ID, USA
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$167,087
Expenses
$176,069
Assets
$342,064
Liabilities
$49,608

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • LISA CURTIS (BOARD PRESID): $60,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Wild gift selects extraordinary leaders, takes them on a deep wilderness trip, and gives them startup capital and expert mentorship to accelerate their better-worlds ideas.

What it reported doing in 2025

Form 990, part three line 4a - first accomplishment through vigorous outreach and a intensive selection process, each year wild gift successfully recruits impressive visionaries (ages 21-35) with break- through ideas who demonstrate the ability to grow a sustainable enterprise, bring diversity of background, and will make a significant impact on the problem thay are trying to solve each class of fellows embarks on a 16-month fellowship program, commercing wth the:"wild gift" a 20-day expedition in the Idaho wilderness. The expedition challenges each fellow physically and emotionally, remmoves them from their comfort zone, and connects them to the natural world on a very personal level. They are able to unplug, gain clarity, incubate ideas, and envision the true scope of theri work and lives, and build life long bonds with peers tackling similar challenges. Connections are drawn between the challenges of surviving in the wild to those confronted on the ground when launching a social venture - the willingness to embrace risk, seeing obstacles as opprotunities, perservance, humilty, the interconnectness of all things, and fragility of the natural world. The program incorporates a platform where authenticity, collobration and sustainability are revered, personal relationships and life balance matter, and failure is viewed as a necessary setp to success. Post-expedition, each wild gift fellow is provided with technical assistance and dedicated mentors to help them launch their initiative. They are networked into a tight-knit cadre of other wild gift social enterpreneurs working all over the world, including sponsorship to attend annual fellowship retreats. Fellows are also supported beyond the official sponsorship term of their fellowship through ongoing networking opportunities, knowledge sharing, speaking invitations, and continued inclusion in wild gift's national and internatioinal outreach.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.2%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 58.5%; rating input score 59
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.4%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.94; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 34.1%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.7% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.2% of revenue deployed · 58.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $103K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.