Friends of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO SUPPORT AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE EDUCATIONAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES PROVIDED FOR THE PUBLIC BY THE GALLATIN NATIONAL FOREST AVALANCHE CENTER, INCLUDING AVALANCHE EDUCATION FOR THE PUBLIC.
- Income
- $355,755
- Spending
- $228,581
- Spent on programs
- 88%
- Reserves
- 51.2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 57%
- Employees
- 61
- Volunteers
- 8
- Highest pay
- $15,235, director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 89% of charities in its peer group (employment, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 51.2 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 36% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 43% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1588% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 3 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 86 out of 100. Higher than 70% of charities in its peer group (employment, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 253 of 5 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
Independent check of accounts
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $131,169 spent. AVALANCHE SAFETY AND AWARENESS EDUCATION PROGRAM: THE FRIENDS OF GNFAC PROVIDES FREE, QUALITY AVALANCHE SAFETY EDUCATION AND INFORMATION FOR ALL BACKCOUNTRY USERS IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA. IN THE 2024-2025 SEASON, WE OPERATED FREE-TO-THE-PUBLIC AVALANCHE BEACON PARKS IN CONJUNCTION WITH PARTNERS IN BOZEMAN, COOKE CITY, AND WEST YELLOWSTONE, AND 50 INSTRUCTORS COORDINATED AND STAFFED 110 UNIQUE EVENTS, REACHING 3,667 STUDENT PARTICIPANTS FROM GRADES 1-12, COLLEGIATE, SEARCH AND RESCUE GROUPS, SKI PATROL, AND SKI AND SNOWMOBILE CLUBS.
- $68,198 spent. DIRECT SUPPORT OF THE GALLATIN NATIONAL FOREST AVALANCHE CENTER IN THEIR MISSION TO INFORM THE RECREATING PUBLIC ABOUT AVALANCHE DANGER: THE FRIENDS OF GNFAC HOSTS THE MTAVALANCHE.COM WEBSITE, OWNS AND MAINTAINS 5 WEATHER STATIONS, AND PROVIDES OTHER DIRECT SUPPORT TO THE AVALANCHE CENTER BY COVERING COSTS FOR SNOWMOBILES, GEAR, AND WEBSITE MAINTENANCE. IN THE 2024-2025 SEASON, THE AVALANCHE CENTER'S DAILY AVALANCHE ADVISORIES REACHED 5K+ PEOPLE A DAY; GNFAC VIDEOS RECEIVED OVER 5.2M VIEWS ON INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, AND YOUTUBE; AND SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS REACHED 58K.
- $1,513 spent. SNOWPILOT SOFTWARE: FRIENDS OF GNFAC FUNDS THE MAINTENANCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST SNOWPACK DATABASE, HOLDING OVER 41,500 SNOW PIT REPORTS FROM 23 COUNTRIES AND 4,500 ACTIVE USERS. SNOWPILOT IS OPEN-SOURCE, FREE SOFTWARE IN 5 LANGUAGES (ENGLISH, SPANISH, ICELANDIC, SWEDISH, AND ITALIAN) THAT ALLOWS USERS TO RECORD AND GRAPH SNOW PIT INFORMATION IN A SECURE DATABASE WHERE RESEARCHERS CAN ANALYZE IT TO ADVANCE THE FIELD OF SNOW SCIENCE.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since May 1994.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.