Tumbling Creek Cave Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
202825363
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Protem, MO, USA
Phone
4177854289
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$186,932
Expenses
$125,210
Assets
$3,157,136
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVE WOODS (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • DAVE WOODS (PRESIDENT)
  • CATHERINE ALEY (SECRETARY/TREASURER)
  • BRUCE HERSCHEND (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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To conserve tumbling creek cave and its natural environment and maintain or establish the habitat for native species and native plant and animal communities, including, but not limited to, various unique, threatened and endangered species, and to facilitate or conduct education and/or research on natural cave and karst systems and provide facilities for such education and/or reserach.

What it reported doing in 2025

Trapping and removal of an invasive crayfish in tumbling creek cave to protect federally endangered snails. Field trips and professional short courses for college students, biologists, hydrologists, geologists and engineers.

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 44
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 68
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 42.8%; rating input score 43
  • Program expense ratio: 60.5%; rating input score 61
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 10th 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: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 33%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 25.21; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.8% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 42.8% of revenue deployed · 60.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $76K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 17 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.