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CHARITY REVIEW
Issued: September 2025 Expires: September 2027

Alaska Trails

Standards Not Met
Standards Not Met
6 7 11 16 18
(907) 334-8049
Post Office Box 100627
Anchorage, AK, 99510
https://alaska-trails.org/
📄 Full Report 🖨️ Print 📋 BBB Charity Standards

Standards For Charity Accountability

Governance

  1. Board Oversight
  2. Board Size
  3. Board Meetings
  4. Board Compensation
  5. Conflict of Interest

Measuring Effectiveness

  1. Effectiveness Policy
  2. Effectiveness Report

Finances

  1. Program Expenses
  2. Fundraising Expenses
  3. Accumulating Funds
  4. Audit Report
  5. Detailed Expense Breakdown
  6. Accurate Expense Reporting
  7. Budget Plan

Fundraising & Info

  1. Truthful Materials
  2. Annual Report
  3. Website Disclosures
  4. Donor Privacy
  5. Cause Marketing Disclosures
  6. Complaints

Alaska Trails does not meet the following 5 Standards for Charity Accountability:

Standard 6 (Board Policy on Effectiveness)
Have a board policy of assessing, no less than every two years, the organization's performance and effectiveness and of determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

AT does not meet this Standard because:

  • The board of directors does not have a written policy stating that, at least every two years, an appraisal be done assessing the organization’s performance and effectiveness and determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

Standard 7 (Board Approval of Written Report on Effectiveness)
Submit to the organization's governing body, for its approval, a written report that outlines the results of the aforementioned performance and effectiveness assessment and recommendations for future actions.

AT does not meet this Standard because:

  • The organization has not completed an effectiveness assessment in the last two years.

Standard 11 (Financial Statements)
Make available to all, on request, complete annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. When total annual gross income exceeds $1 million, these statements should be audited in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. For charities whose annual gross income is less than $1 million, a review by a certified public accountant is sufficient to meet this standard. For charities whose annual gross income is less than $250,000, an internally produced, complete financial statement is sufficient to meet this standard.

AT does not meet this Standard because:

  • Although the organization reported total revenue in the amount of $1,258,295 for 2023, AT states it does not have audited financial statements.

Standard 16 (Annual Report)
Have an annual report available to all, on request, that includes: (a) the organization's mission statement, (b) a summary of the past year's program service accomplishments, (c) a roster of the officers and members of the board of directors, (d) financial information that includes (i) total income in the past fiscal year, (ii) expenses in the same program, fund raising and administrative categories as in the financial statements, and (iii) ending net assets.

AT does not meet this Standard because the 2023 annual report did not include:

  • A financial summary matching the organization's 2023 IRS Form 990.

Standard 18 (Privacy for Written Appeals & Internet Privacy)
Address privacy concerns of donors by (a) providing in written appeals, at least annually, a means (e.g., such as a check off box) for both new and continuing donors to inform the charity if they do not want their name and address shared outside the organization, (b) providing a clear, prominent and easily accessible privacy policy on any of its websites that tells visitors (i) what information, if any, is being collected about them by the charity and how this information will be used, (ii) how to contact the charity to review personal information collected and request corrections, (iii) how to inform the charity (e.g., a check off box) that the visitor does not wish his/her personal information to be shared outside the organization, and (iv) what security measures the charity has in place to protect personal information.

AT does not meet this Standard because the privacy policy on its website, https://alaska-trails.org, does not indicate:

  • How to contact the charity to review personal information that is collected and request corrections.
  • How to inform the charity that the visitor does not want his/her information shared with others.

The BBB Wise Giving Alliance requested but did not receive complete information from the organization and is unable to verify the organization's compliance with the following Standard(s) for Charity Accountability: 13

Alaska Trails meets the remaining 14 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Stated Purpose:
"to build trails for Alaska’s people, communities, and economy."

Year, State Incorporated:
2003, AK

Alaska Trails (AT) reports that it provides funding ideas, resources, and technical assistance for trail-related projects and programs, such as development, maintenance, easement acquisition, safety, and education. The organization’s Alaska Trail Stewards program offers volunteer and paid crew trail construction and maintenance services to public land managers and others who have the responsibility to safely and sustainably maintain trails throughout the state. AT’s Trails Initiative works to create more trails in Alaska and expand opportunities for year-round use. The Alaska Long Trail project, which is part of the Trails Initiative, aims to create a trail system connecting over 500 miles of Alaska’s diverse terrain and communities from the Pacific Ocean to the interior.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, Alaska Trails's program expenses were:

Alaska trail stewards $775,963
Trails initiative $256,574
Training and education $28,064
Total Program Expenses $1,060,601

Chief Executive
Haley Johnston, Executive Director

Chair of the Board
Katherine Ginsbach

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Senior Associate, O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law

Board Size
10

Paid Staff Size
8

*2025 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.

Note: Haley Johnston became Executive Director in April 2025. Compensation for her role as Executive Director is not known at this time. Former Executive Director Steve Cleary was the highest-paid employee in 2023, with total compensation of $94,419.

Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Grant proposals, Internet, Direct mail appeals, Membership appeals

Fundraising costs were 4% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $1,258,146, are donations received as a result of fundraising activities.)

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.

The following information is based on Alaska Trails's IRS Form 990 for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Source of Funds
Government grants $982,815
Contributions $246,602
Special events, net $20,510
In-kind contributions $7,500
Federated campaigns $719
Investment income $149
Total Income $1,258,295

Programs: 85% Fundraising: 4% Administrative: 10%

Total Income $1,258,295
Total expenses: $1,241,883
  Program expenses $1,060,601
  Fundraising expenses $54,480
  Administrative expenses $126,802
  Other expenses $0
Income in Excess of Expenses $16,412
Beginning Net Assets $398,538
Other Changes In Net Assets $0
Ending Net Assets $418,241
Total Liabilities $41,307
Total Assets $459,548

Note: According to the organization's 2023 IRS Form 990, AT received in-kind contributions totaling $7,500.

An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus.

This report is not to be used for fundraising or promotional purposes.

RELATED CONTENT

Report completed by:
BBB Wise Giving Alliance