Western States Endurance Run Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942902794
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Auburn, CA, USA
Phone
4155788998
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,253,158
Expenses
$1,201,536
Assets
$1,023,542
Liabilities
$459,065

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Christopher Gaylord (President)
  • Diana Fitzpatrick (Vice President)
  • Craig Thornley (Executive Director/Race Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Craig Thornley (Executive Director/Race Director): $111,347 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 be a leader in the sport of ultrarunning and promote its personal and community benefits through trail stewardship, research, and providing a life-changing experience.

What it reported doing in 2024

Sponsored two medical studies at the 2025 Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run entitled: "The interrelationship between nutritional strategies, body core temperature and gastrointestinal distress during the Western States Endurance Run" led by Lois Mougin of Loughborough University, UK and "Biomechanical workload, total energy expenditure and markers of bone health in ultrarunners competing in the 2025-2029 Western States Endurance Run" led by Richard Wily of the University of Montana and the Department of Defense.Both studies were successfully completed and researchers in the first study have recently published an article in the Journal of Applied Physiology entitled: (Continued on Schedule O)"Physiological, nutritional, and thermoregulatory responses of a world class mountain-ultramarathon athlete during the 2025 Western States Endurance Run 100."The WSER Foundation hosted a pre-race medical conference in Auburn on May 23, 2025 with 65 attendees to present the results of research conducted at the WSER. The Foundation's Medical Director presented pre-race zoom conferences to discuss medical issues of concern for WSER entrants.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 72% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 95
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.6%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 96.5%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: $215.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.1%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.85; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.45; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.3%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.6% of revenue deployed · 96.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $111K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.