Voyageur Outward Bound School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
410877459
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
St Paul, MN, USA
Phone
6514010639
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,019,994
Expenses
$5,183,561
Assets
$12,223,475
Liabilities
$459,366

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JACK LEE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JACK LEE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $181,812 total reported compensation
  • MARLAIS BRAND (DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT): $143,181 total reported compensation
  • STACEY MINNICK (DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING): $134,274 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We bring young people together for group learning adventures in wilderness and urban settings in Minnesota. We invite teens and young adults to identify, practice and grow leadership skills through shared experiences. We also offer the outward bound experience to adults of all ages. We know that more resilient and compassionate people create a more resilient and compassionate world, and we want to help make that vision a reality by empowering people with life and leadership skills. We teach through challenge, adventure and nature. We believe in the potential of every individual, and seek to increase access to our validated and time-tested experiential leadership learning programs. We invite individuals to go outward bound, and we partner with schools and youth-serving nonprofits to create custom programs that advance their goals for young people.

What it reported doing in 2025

Vobs twin cities center delivers outdoor programs primarily to students living in and near st paul and minneapolis. The programming uses the same curriculum and activities, customized and adapted to be delivered through a series of day programs. These programs primarily serve marginalized and underserved populations in the urban core and give access to the power of the outdoors and social-emotional development to traditionally under-resourced populations. In addition to this day programming, called insight, vobs offers summer multiday expeditions out of our twin cities center, primarily utilizing the st croix river, a designated wild and scenic river, and the superior hiking trail on the north shore of lake superior. Vobs served 587 students in its twin cities center urban programs in 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.6%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 73.8%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.3%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.36; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.9%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.2% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.6% of revenue deployed · 73.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $182K · 17 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $616K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.