Veterans Backcountry Adventures
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 932622737
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2023–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2024
- Location
- Maupin, OR, USA
- Phone
- 5413990812
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $92,527
- Expenses
- $61,029
- Assets
- $42,065
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- John Messenger (President)
People named in this filing
- John Messenger (President)
- Katherine Veeninga (Secretary)
- Todd Plocher (Medical Advisor)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
VBA's primary exempt purpose is to provide community, connection, and support for active-duty military members, veterans, first responders, and their families through outdoor adventures and recreational experiences. These programs are designed to promote physical and mental well-being, strengthen social connection, and improve participants' overall quality of life through guided backcountry, river, and wilderness activities.
What it reported doing in 2025
VBA provided guided backcountry, river rafting, and outdoor recreation experiences for approximately 100 military veterans and their families. The organization acquired and maintained specialized expedition equipment, safety systems, camping gear, and field supplies and provided transportation and logistical support to remote river and wilderness locations. These programs promote physical and mental well-being, social connection, and improved quality of life for participating veterans and their families.
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 97% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Assets have declined or grown slowly and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 72
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 65
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 60%; rating input score 60
- Program expense ratio: 91%; rating input score 91
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 34%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.69; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 25.1% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -13.4% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 60% of revenue deployed · 91% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $56K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 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.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.