Wilderness Education Association Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 830245256
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2015–2023
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2019
- Location
- Cheyenne, WY, USA
- Phone
- 9712085751
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $35,892
- Expenses
- $46,794
- Assets
- $71,772
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ANDREW WRIGHT (Vice President)
People named in this filing
- JAY POST (Trustee)
- DAVE SPERRY (Chairman)
- QUINN LINFORD (Secretary)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The WEA's nonprofit purpose is educational by advancing professionalism of outdoor leaders through standards, training, and credentialing
What it reported doing in 2023
FY 2024, the Wilderness Education Association (WEA) made significant strides in advancing the professionalism of outdoor leaders through our core mission of standards, training, and credentialing. Key achievements include: 1. Membership Growth and Retention: WEA successfully increased its Lifetime Membership base by 23%, demonstrating the value members find in our resources and community. 2. Professional Development Initiatives: WEA offered multiple professional development opportunities, including the International Conference on Outdoor Leadership 2024 (ICOL 2024), Outdoor Leadership Experience (OLE), Outdoor Leadership Training Course (OLTC), and Certified Outdoor Leader (COL) courses. enrolled over 200 individuals enrolled representing the U.S., Canada, China, Ireland, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan. These initiatives fostered skill development and enhanced the professional capabilities of outdoor educators. 3. Strategic Alliances: We nurtured strategic alliances with key stakeholders, resulting in collaborative efforts to promote standards in outdoor leadership. These partnerships have contributed to the recognition of WEAs curriculum and credentialing process as industry benchmarks. 4. Research and Advocacy: WEA hosted two keynote speakers, 11 general sessions, five practical sessions, two research sessions, and a post-conference session at ICOL 2024. These sessions focused on outdoor living skills, planning and logistics, risk management, environmental integration, education, leadership, judgment and decision-making. We also collaborated with the Journal of Outdoor, Recreation, Education Leadership (JOREL) in advocacy efforts to promote outdoor education, education, and leadership at the national level. 5. Community Engagement: The WEA National Office and Executive Chair participated in the 30th Annual Adventure Education Conference. Through a range of community-focused events and activities, WEA enhanced its visibility and presence within the industry. Additionally, the WEA ICOL Auction raised $1,080 for the Scholarship Fund, showcasing our community's commitment to supporting the next generation of outdoor leaders. These achievements underscore WEAs commitment to advancing the field of outdoor leadership and ensuring that our standards and training programs continue to support the growth and professionalism of outdoor educators
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 82% 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 93
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Sustainability: 32
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 81.1%; rating input score 81
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -30.4%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.53; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $38K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2015 to 2023
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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 19/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.