Wolf-warrior Outdoor Leadership for the Future Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
465037027
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2019
Location
St Petersburg, FL, USA
Phone
2022563726
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$82,481
Expenses
$106,253
Assets
$582,063
Liabilities
$2,700

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT 'MIKE' VAUGHN (CEO (THRU 6/3/24))
  • SARA MOOLA (PRESIDENT & TREASURER)

People named in this filing

  • ROBERT 'MIKE' VAUGHN (CEO (THRU 6/3/24))
  • SARA MOOLA (PRESIDENT & TREASURER)
  • PHOEBE TAYLOR HAILEY (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. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Wolf empowers the next generation through outdoor leadership, mentorship, and career-building programs, focusing on military youth and underserved communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Wolf advances research and education equity in mars skills - machine learning, automation, robotics and space - for military youth ages 16-24 to prepare for careers in advanced technologies, actualized through intense, realistic first responder drone scenarios and measured through standardized performance indicators of both human and machine in gaming environments.wolf continues to evolve and excel in applied learning, leveraging teamwork and mentorship to build confidence through risk-taking and learning from failure in real-world, mission-critical scenarios. Its programs thrive through collaboration with industry, education, and government partners. (continued on schedule o)drone programsmobile drone command outreach programwolf deployed a mobile drone command trailer, funded by the pinellas community foundation, to secondary and post-secondary educators and students. This mobile unit brought live drone training exercises directly to schools and underserved communities, reducing barriers to access stem education. The program engaged over 4,500 students, introducing them to drone piloting, physics, and real-world autonomous vehicle applications. Dronewolf.ai competitive machine learning frameworkwolf partnered with aalmv and leveraged national science foundation (nsf)-funded research to implement an online scalable, competitive machine learning framework that enhances student skills in physics, ai, robotics, and programming through mission-driven learning and gamified challenges. The framework included ai-driven drone simulation challenges, integrating real-world stem skills with gamified competition metrics, preparing students for careers in automation, robotics, and defense. The challenges also gave students the opportunity to apply physics and programming skills in real-world mission scenarios. Students participated in virtual competitions, engaging with autonomous systems, ai-based robotics, and mission-critical learning tasks. Educators and industry professionals provided mentorship, reinforcing real-world applications of machine learning in national security and automation.wolf conducts hands-on tactical drone training in collaboration with law enforcement agencies and emergency response teams, including scenario-based mission exercises. Wolf provided training to youth with support from officers and first responders, equipping them with real-time situational awareness, surveillance, and ai-assisted decision-making skills. Military youth cape certification programin partnership with the patriot foundation, wolf provides nationally recognized technical certifications in high-demand stem fields to military-connected youth, enhancing their career readiness in engineering, cybersecurity, and robotics. Wolf certified students in python programming, recf robotics certification, and additive manufacturing, providing them with skills relevant to automation, ai, and aerospace industries. This program equipped participants with industry-recognized technical skills, leading to increased career readiness in engineering, cybersecurity, and defense technology fields. Wolf implemented training at macdill afb, home to socom & centcom, preparing students for careers in defense technology. Wolf hosted hands-on workshops where students designed, prototyped, and tested robotics and automation solutions, simulating real-world national security applications. During the workshops, industry mentors from education, government, and private sector technology firms provided career pathways and mentorship.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 85% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.4%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 81.1%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -28.8%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.48; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 98.4% of revenue deployed · 81.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 2 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $86K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.