Wildlife Science Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 411678264
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Stacy, MN, USA
- Phone
- 6514643993
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Graduate, Professional Schools (Separate Entities)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $310,284
- Expenses
- $468,602
- Assets
- $2,100,436
- Liabilities
- $141,029
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- PEGGY CALLAHAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- PEGGY CALLAHAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $60,000 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 serve as an educatonal resource for all ages; by: providing exposure to wild animals and the body of knowledge generated for their conversation; to advance understanding of wild animal biology through long-term, humane scientific studies on captive populations, thus
What it reported doing in 2024
Education: the wildlife science center provided programs for over 15,000 visitors. Programs are provided for the general public, non-school organizations and school groups ages pre-k through 12 and post secondary. Every wildlife science center education program is aligned with national and state science standards, but the focus of presentation does not involve science. The subject of wolves and wildlife lends itself to discussions of history, culture, mathmatics, literature, art, and other topics. Close-up observation of our wildlife affords unique learning opportunities from color and size variation to a more in-depth look at adaptations, behaviors, management and conservation. Training: wildlife science center continued a long tradition of providing hands-on training to wild life professionals and students using our real wolves and bears. Research: biologists have spent time researching animals in natural habitat in order to maintain healthy wolf and bear populations.
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 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 92
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 32
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 86.1%; rating input score 86
- Fundraising efficiency: $42.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -51%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.48; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 12.8%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 86.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $404K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2010 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 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.