Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jun 2002.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
65 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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
19 people listed on the 990-T; $477K paid to officers and key staff.
Patrick O'Donoghue’s $242K as Executive Di is at the 91st percentile of top reported officer pay among 1842 $1–10M recreation & sports 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick O'Donoghue | $241,579 | $251,343 | $248,962 | $228,178 | — |
| Patrick Ryan O'Donoghue | — | — | — | — | $201,029 |
| Bradford Ludden | $185,936 | — | — | — | — |
| Raymond Shedd | $179,836 | $176,933 | $163,095 | $130,706 | — |
| Brad Ludden | — | $169,358 | — | — | — |
| Adam Schuster | $150,968 | $149,134 | $143,595 | $117,916 | — |
| Bradford R Ludden | — | — | — | — | $137,475 |
| Anna McGrath | $115,259 | — | — | — | — |
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.
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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 15aYes
Programs and updates
Offers life-changing outdoor adventures to young adults facing serious health challenges.
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During the first descents experience, young adults impacted by cancer and other serious health conditions are empowered through conquering of legitimate outdoor challenges to push their limits and face their fears and by doing so, they regain the confidence lost to health conditions.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990-T, line by line.
Download 990
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest | $8.9M | $4.5M | $4.4M | $12.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $4.7M | $4.6M | $70K | $8.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $4.7M | $4.0M | $720K | $8.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $4.6M | $2.5M | $2.1M | $7.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $5.4M | $2.3M | $3.1M | $5.6M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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