Wind River Ranch

Legal name: Wind River Ministries Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
752737796
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Estes Park, CO, United States
Phone
970-586-4212
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Christianity
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,765,518
Expenses
$2,880,547
Assets
$10,609,661
Liabilities
$2,297,305

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DON MCINTYRE (Executive Dir.): $268,610 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 glorify God by serving others through the love of Jesus Christ in all we do; to provide a facility and a program that strives to show our guests and staff the Creator, with relationship development as key to achieving our mission. Wind River was a window of light for my soul! Makes me ever mindful of my place in this life. Having endured the hardship and sadness of the dying of my best friend and father of my children on one side of the window and the love and support of caring people on the other side doing what they can do to serve me fills me with joy. The memories of the trip afforded us will be treasured always. I was especially touched by the graciousness of the good people at Wind River Ranch. It was nice having a placid place such as Wind River to rest and heal which provided harmony to my soul. Thank you. G. Pratt California.

What it reported doing in 2024

Christian retreat experience. The program's season lasts from june to september. Each week a different christian speaker leads bible studies and firesides worship and christian fellowship. Our dedicated staff serve all who come with christ-like service to demonstrate the love of god. Each week we hear from many guests who claim the week was exceptional because of the servant attitude from all the staff. Some claim that it was the best christian experience in their life and brought them closer to god. Our ministry offers camping scholarships at 50% of regular cost to families who could not otherwise afford to come. These scholarships are awarded on the basis of financial need. The families are recommended by our board and donors. This is a relational program to provide a religious experience. Each week the staff and ministry witness god's incredible work in the lives of our guests as the guests retreat from the distractions and pressures of the world.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 65% 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 - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 50.4%; rating input score 50
  • Program expense ratio: 81%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $23.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 39.6%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.68; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.3%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 50.4% of revenue deployed · 81% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $269K · 8 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 50/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.