Wells Mountain Initiative Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 203823604
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Bristol, VT, USA
- Phone
- 8024534065
- Rating
- 72
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- International, Foreign Affairs, and National Security N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $956,818
- Expenses
- $1,097,957
- Assets
- $2,069,417
- Liabilities
- $28,863
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- NICOLE BAKER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - CURRENT)
- LISA MEADOWCROFT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UNTIL OCTOBER 2024)
Highest reported compensation
- LISA MEADOWCROFT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UNTIL OCTOBER 2024): $168,208 total reported compensation
- NICOLE BAKER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - CURRENT): $114,662 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 create social change through education and community building by providing bright young people in the developing world with student scholarships and skills training, building a network of grassroots leaders who are catalyzing community transformation.
What it reported doing in 2024
Provided programming and funding for young people and initiatives in the developing world to support post-secondary education, leadership development and community development.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 65% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 68
- Transparency & Controls: 66
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 80%; rating input score 80
- Program expense ratio: 66%; rating input score 66
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.64 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: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Pass
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -14.8%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.88; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 25.8%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 13.1% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 17.4% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 80% of revenue deployed · 66% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $724K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $168K · 16 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.