Rock Creek Alliance Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Education and environmental protection
- Income
- $42,658
- Spending
- $58,472
- Reserves
- 22.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 94%
- Highest pay
- $4,049, treasurer and director
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 79 out of 100. Higher than 49% of charities in its peer group (environment, under $250k).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 22.1 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 37% of income.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 (2)
- $59,981 spent. Line 28: Rock Creek Mine Project. Rock Creek Alliance, Inc.: (Alliance) has worked to increase awareness of the threats of the proposed Rock Creek Mine (on water quality, wilderness, fisheries & wildlife, and local communities) while garnering public support for its work in Idaho, Montana and beyond. This is accomplished by providing information to members, organizations, businesses, public officials, agency decision-makers and the general public, via newsletters, brochures and the organization's website; radio interviews, news articles and print ads; educational presentations, events and meetings; and social media. The organization has acquired scientific & technical reviews of NEPA documents related to the mine plan in order to provide a critique of agency & industry-generated studies, and it has provided substantive comments pertaining to these documents and studies during public comment periods. Over the years, the Alliance has filed and prevailed in court appeals brought in Federal and State Courts, and, as a result, key permits and approvals have been rescinded with additional analyses and public input required. In 2023, the Rock Creek Alliance continued to pursue an ongoing case in State Court concerning the "bad actor" provision of the Montana Metal Mine Reclamation Act. Phillips Baker, the CEO of Hecla Mining, has ties to Pegasus Gold, which filed for bankruptcy in 1998. Under Baker's tenure, Pegasus Gold left tens of millions in ongoing cleanup costs at the Zortman-Landusky, Basin Creek, & Beal Mountain mines. Under the state's "bad actor" law, Hecla Mining, led by Phillips Baker, cannot open up a new mine in Montana until the company assumes liability and cleans up the pollution at those mines, while paying fees issued by the state. Our original Complaint was brought against Montana DEQ for its failure to enforce the bad actor law, but following a 2022 court decision, we amended our Complaint in 2023 to include Phillips Baker and Hecla Mining Company for violations of Montana's Bad Actor provision. Our goal was to obtain a court order that would bar Hecla from mining in Montana. In 2024, the bad actor case was dismissed after Phillips Baker retired.
- $881 spent. Fiscal Agent for Save Our Cabinets: Rock Creek Alliance, Inc. is serving as Fiscal Agent for Save Our Cabinets, Inc., a Montana non-profit corporation. The mission of Save Our Cabinets is to protect the 94,360 acre Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area in northwestern Montana, while conserving and restoring the wildlands, native fish and wildlife, and air and waters of the Cabinet Mountains Ecosystem. Save Our Cabinets works to increase awareness of the threats of proposed mining, including the proposed Montanore Mine, on water quality, wilderness, fisheries, and wildlife by providing information to the public and its supporters through educational materials, events and meetings, and social media. The organization has acquired scientific and technical review of NEPA documents related to water quality, fisheries and grizzly bears, and has been involved in submitting comments on various NEPA documents for the proposed Montanore Mine. Save Our Cabinets has also filed lawsuits in the past that have resulted in the revocation of state and federal permits for the mine. In 2022, the Forest Service initiated scoping comments on a draft plan for an exploration adit for the proposed Montanore mine (Libby Exploration Project). Save Our Cabinets submitted comments urging the US Forst Service to require an EIS for this project due to its many impacts including loss of critical habitat for threatened species, including grizzly bears, Canada lynx, and wolverines; discharges into critical habitat for threatened bull trout; activities occurring adjacent and under the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness; dewatering impacts to wilderness waters; and impacts to cultural resources of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 October 13, 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 December 2024.
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 July 1999.
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 October 21, 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.