Wa-ya Outdoor Institute
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 821147149
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2020
- Location
- Tumwater, WA, USA
- Phone
- 4255314385
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $294,505
- Expenses
- $265,904
- Assets
- $64,303
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Rebecca List (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Rebecca List (Executive Director): $61,934 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To weave together outdoor survival, science, and indigenous culture and perspective to provide all youth regardless of income, an opportunity for learning about outdoor science, connecting with nature; and using that connection to foster a sense of belonging, self-confidence, and stewardship.
What it reported doing in 2024
Youth Day Camp: Ran 10 weeks of day camp and 5 weeks of overnight trips that intertwined Indigenous traditional & cultural knowledge, outdoor adventure, and environmental science for 30 youth, ages 6-13 (Day Camp) and 10 youth (ages 12-17) per week. Our goal is to connect all, regardless of income, with the outdoors to create more hopeful and resilient youth. Each camp had two instructors present all day. Program service expenses paid for instructors, transportation, and entrance fees to museums, parks, etc.
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 90% 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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 67
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 63
- Sustainability: 43
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 72.6%; rating input score 73
- Program expense ratio: 80.4%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 9.7%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.24; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 23.3%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 37.3% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 72.6% of revenue deployed · 80.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $214K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $62K · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.