Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841123481
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Billings, MT, USA
Phone
4062529672
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Rural Economic Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,380,993
Expenses
$6,648,252
Assets
$7,154,184
Liabilities
$987,445

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SARA KENDALL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FORMER)
  • DEBORAH LOVE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DEBORAH LOVE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $125,501 total reported compensation
  • SARA KENDALL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FORMER): $119,742 total reported compensation
  • KERRI NELSON WOLENETZ (FINANCE DIRECTOR): $99,827 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 support the charitable and educational activities (within the meaning of the internal revenue code section 501(c)(3)) of the western organization of resource councils (worc) a publicly suppported section 501 (c)(4) organization, as permitted by the treasury.

What it reported doing in 2024

The worc education project made grants to several 501(c)(3) organizations to assist with staff management and membership development, engage members in civic involvement through community boards and commissions, promote clean renewable energy, and provide responsible development of non-renewable energy resources.

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 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99%; rating input score 99
  • Program expense ratio: 94.9%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 92.2%; rating input score 92; 27th 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.2%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.08; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.1%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99% of revenue deployed · 94.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $6.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $126K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 20 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 27 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 28 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.