West Region Wildfire Council
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Increases resilience to wildfire in Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray and San Miguel Counties in Colorado
- Income
- $1.7 million
- Spending
- $1.4 million
- Spent on programs
- 92%
- Reserves
- 3.2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 86%
- Employees
- 8
- Highest pay
- $101,163, executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 57% of charities in its peer group (public safety and disaster relief, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 3.2 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 18% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 9% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1592% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 94 out of 100. Higher than 84% of charities in its peer group (public safety and disaster relief, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 255 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
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
9 of 15Its accounts were reviewed or compiled by an independent accountant, but not audited.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 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 (3)
- $674,619 spent. The West Region Wildfire Council (WRWC) works to increase wildfire resilience in our communities, forests, and watersheds. WRWC works across six west-central Colorado counties: Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray & San Miguel. WRWCs core approaches to delivering our mission are: 1) Wildfire Mitigation & Technical Assistance-WRWC provides expert guidance, educaiton and technical forestry resources for vegetation management and wildfire risk reduction. Established programs result in acres treated, ignition resistant homes, and homes/communities protected. 2) Wildfire Resilience Funding Aggregation-WRWC seures and distributes resources that financially support the costs of wildfire mitigation efforts. Funding is leveraged to make financial support more impactful, creating substantial return on investment, while bolstering the local contractor economy & jobs. 3) Convening & Collaborating-WRWC unites agencies, communities, homeowners & landowners see schedule O
- $638,385 spent. The Fuels Program directly supports vegetation management fuels reduction/mitiation projects in high wildfire risk areas within the region. The fuels program offers a vegetation management cost share program which provides technical and financial assistance to plan and implement strategic fuel breaks, defsible space projects and other priority fuels reduction projects. The fuels program has resulted in wildire risk reduction on 10,000 private wildland urban interface acres helping to protect hundreds of at risk homes.
- Line 4a continued - to collaboratively prioritize how and where work happens.
Source: Form 990 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 November 2018.
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.