Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary

Legal name: Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
850424026
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2023
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Ramah, NM, US
Phone
(505) 775-3304
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Wildlife Sanctuary, Refuge

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$709,923
Expenses
$885,091
Assets
$687,654
Liabilities
$145,053

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kim Kepler (President)
  • Ann Stravalle-Schmidt (Past President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Brittany McDonald (Executive Dir.): $42,799 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary provides permanent, safe sanctuary and lifelong care for wolves, wolfdogs, and other wild canids, while educating the public about these animals in the wild and in captivity.

What it reported doing in 2023

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary's 2023 program activites were:1. Purchase of an ATV / UTV2. Began development of a new Employee Handbook3. Submitted a grant application for $250,000 for infrastructure4. Road into the sanctuary was paved after Brittanys visit to the House of Representatives in Santa Fe5. 14 rescued animals from Arizona, Minnesota, Oregon and Pennsylvania6. Septic tank at cabin repaired7. Fundraising Committee formed to expand opportunities and diversify support8.Eight acres donated to sanctuary9. Season booth at Albuquerque Isotopes home games10. Work done to electrical system, drainage work including culverts and gravel11. Created first organizational budget for 202412. Four employees were certified for Euthanasia Technician Training & Certification13. Second half of the campground tent loop concrete laid14. $6,000 Bonner Family Foundation Grant15. $35,000 Carroll Petrie Foundation 16. Established time clock policy and procedures with Clockify platform17. 290 intake requests18. Reintroduced Educational Encounters with Twilight Tours

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 81.2%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.98 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -24.7%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.78; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.8%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $719K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $43K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.