Wild Bear Nature Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841352764
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2009
Location
Nederland, CO, USA
Phone
3032580495
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,605,386
Expenses
$840,144
Assets
$11,002,933
Liabilities
$604,591

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • NATHAN SMALLWOOD (EXECUTIVE DI): $132,000 total reported compensation
  • JILL DREVES (FOUNDER): $121,796 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

For 27 years, wild bear nature center has helped children and adults forge lifelong connections to nature through creative exploration of the outdoors. Specializing in mountain ecology, wild bear welcomes visitors to its hands-on nature center and provides year-round educational programs for people of all ages. Wild bear nature center inspires a lifelong connection to nature and community through creative exploration of the outdoors since 1997. We are key partners in the preservation of mud lake open space and in 2000 we organized the community to remove 30 tons of trash making it one of the healthiest wetland habitats in boulder county. Wild bear is now in a capital campaign to build its permanent home on its five acres at mud lake and caribou ranch open spaces and completed development design of the nature center.

What it reported doing in 2024

Children's workshops: wild bear nature center provides children ages 5-15 with educational opportunities outside of school hours; after-school, days off, and all summer. Wild bear is a cccap (Colorado child care assistance program) provider and 49% of participants are identified as low-income and access programs through cccap and donor supported scholarships. In 2021-22, wild bear provided programs for children during the summer and during the school year. Provided 240 programs to 1,780 children who explored the indial peaks wilderness, mud lake and caibou ranch open spaces, and other surrounding natureal areas. School programs: wild bear provides natural science programs to surroundind school districts at mud lake or at the nature center. Provided 20 school group programs to 656 children. Intergenterational familty programs and visitation: the free interim nature center, located in a commercial space, is open while the official nature center is being constructed engaging people of all ages in hands-on nature exhibits. Wild bear provided 59 adult/family programs to 1,541 participants and enjoyed 23,348 general visitors to the free nature center.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 34
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 82
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 14.6%; rating input score 15
  • Program expense ratio: 58.1%; rating input score 58
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 54; 54th 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: 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 76.7%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 13.1; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 30.2%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.3% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 14.6% of revenue deployed · 58.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $488K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $132K · 12 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $3.7M reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 15/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.