Yellowstone Theological Institute
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 461549605
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Bozeman, MT, USA
- Phone
- 4064041600
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Christianity
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,552,994
- Expenses
- $1,856,296
- Assets
- $13,407,610
- Liabilities
- $4,273,806
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- REV DR JAY SMITH (President)
Highest reported compensation
- REV DR JAY SMITH (President): $112,006 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of yellowstone theological institute (yti) is to provide leadership, training, and resources for the missional re-imagining of christian witness in the northwest and beyond. We accomplish this by offering a master of arts degree with several different emphases, other educational programs, services, and conducting research. 2016 involved the continuation of classes for our master of applied theology (m.a.t.) degree in our satellite campuses - boise, id, bellingham, wa, and bozeman, mt. We continue to develop our m.a.t. Program, have added a diploma program, and have developed our master of divinity program, which began classes in august 2017. Additionally, yti has continued curriculum development, media and marketing development, and enlarged our donor base.
What it reported doing in 2024
Yellowstone theological institute (yti) is committed to being an educational institute where faith is integrated with the arts, sciences and recreational adventure in order to produce an informed clergy and laity for the 21st century. Yti offers a diploma of christian theology and a master of arts degree. Yti desires to offer a master of theology degree. The organization is currently expanding facilities to serve more students.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 77% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 69
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 79.5%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -19.5%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.22; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.32; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 31.5% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 79.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 6 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $112K · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2013 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Independent members within voting members did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.