Our MISSION: True North inspires individual determination and teaches self-advocacy by providing year round positive youth development programs for teens in our rural San Miguel region who have limited access to resources, opportunities, and support.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
91¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$84K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2023 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $59K a year · 18% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
91%
of spending
Looks good: 91% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$84K
to officers and key staff · 31% of spending
Concern: pay to officers and key staff is 31% of spending; over 30%.
Pt VII · Sec A
18 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 18.4 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $5K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$3K
0.8% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 1% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
8
of 8 voting members
Looks good: 8 of 8 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$320K
+13% vs prior year
Spent
$268K
To programs
91%
Net assets
$408K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$320K
FY2023▲ +13%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$264K
FY2021$238K
FY2022$285K
FY2023$320K
FY2024$480K
FY2025$370K
Expenses
$268K
FY2023▲ +23%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$149K
FY2021$201K
FY2022$217K
FY2023$268K
FY2024$377K
FY2025$393K
Net assets
$408K
FY2023▲ +15%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$252K
FY2021$288K
FY2022$356K
FY2023$408K
FY2024$515K
FY2025$492K

From the FY2023 Form 990 · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 2014.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

91 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 91% · $243K Management & general 7% · $18K Fundraising 3% · $7K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

9 people listed on the 990; $84K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$83,654Pt VII · Sec A
Board President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member at Large
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member at Large
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member at Large
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member at Large
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Vivian Russell’s $113K as Executive Director is at the 92nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 1992 $100K–1M youth development nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Vivian Russell$113,491$90,815$83,654$77,725$72,087$61,500

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

See True North Youth Program executive salaries →

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo

Programs and updates

True North Youth Program is a youth development nonprofit based in Telluride, CO, formed in 2014.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $243K · in their own filed words · FY2023
01

True North Youth Program Highlights from 2023

1. There were 260 (154 unique) teenage participants in all of True North's 2023 programs. 2. We partnered with three school districts: Telluride, Norwood, and West End. 3. We offered 31 out-of-school programs that provided 5,080 hours of extracurricular programming. 4.

$243Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$5K

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$320K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$320K
Investment incomeLn 3$711
Money outPt IX
$268K
Ln 25
Programscol B$243K
Managementcol C$18K
Fundraisingcol D$7K
Owns and owesPt X
$408K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$412K
Total assetsLn 16$412K
LiabilitiesLn 26$3K
PeoplePt VI, VII
9
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a8
IndependentVI 1b8
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$320K
Government grantsLn 1e$87K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$0
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$0
Investment incomeLn 3$711
Total revenueLn 12$320K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
SavingsLn 2$412K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$412K
Total assetsLn 16$412K
LiabilitiesLn 26$3K
Net assetsLn 32$408K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 511
VolunteersI 620
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aNo
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$355K$412K
Total assetsLn 16$356K$412K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0$3K
Net assetsLn 32$356K$408K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$147K$140K$7K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$5K$5K
Payroll taxesLn 10$11K$11K$451
Office expensesLn 13$2K$633$1K
Information technologyLn 14$3K$3K
OccupancyLn 16$4K$3K$1K
TravelLn 17$8K$7K$870
InsuranceLn 23$3K$2K$268
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$82K$68K$7K$7K
All other expensesLn 24e$3K$3K$0$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$268K$243K$18K$7K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $370K$393K−$23K$492K 990 PDF
FY2024Filed with the IRS Aug 22, 2025 $480K$377K$103K$515K 990 PDF
FY2023 ViewingFiled with the IRS Jun 6, 2024 $320K$268K$52K$408K 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS Apr 19, 2023 $285K$217K$67K$356K 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Jun 14, 2022 $238K$201K$37K$288K 990 PDF
FY2020Filed with the IRS May 13, 2021 $264K$149K$115K$252K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $320,469 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $284,684$319,758
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $0$711
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $0$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $284,684$320,469
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $139,851$163,993
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $77,443$104,023
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $217,294$268,016
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $67,390$52,453
Part VI · Governance 8 of 8 board members independent, 4 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body8
VI-1b Independent voting members8
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyNo
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $320,469 across 11 lines filed
VIII-1a Federated campaigns$0
VIII-1b Membership dues$0
VIII-1c Fundraising events$0
VIII-1d Related organizations$0
VIII-1e Government grants$87,022
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$232,736
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$0
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$319,758
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $711$711
VIII-5 RoyaltiesRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$0
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $711$320,469
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $268,016 across 10 lines filed
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $140,424 · Management $6,997$147,421
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $5,294$5,294
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $10,827 · Management $451$11,278
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $633 · Management $1,436$2,069
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $2,617$2,617
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $3,282 · Management $1,099$4,381
IX-17 TravelPrograms $6,840 · Management $870$7,710
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $2,419 · Management $268$2,687
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $67,892 · Management $7,126 · Fundraising $6,713$81,731
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $2,828 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$2,828
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $243,056 · Management $18,247 · Fundraising $6,713$268,016
Part X · Balance sheet $411,550 assets, 6 lines filed
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $355,330$411,550
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $355,830$411,550
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $0$3,267
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $0$3,267
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $355,830$408,283
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $355,830$411,550
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $408,283 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$320,469
XI-2 Total expenses$268,016
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$52,453
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$355,830
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$0
XI-6 Donated services and use of facilities$0
XI-7 Investment expenses$0
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$0
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$408,283

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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