Sierra Nevada Journeys

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to deliver innovative outdoor science based education programs for youth to develop critical thinking skills and to inspire natural resource stewardship.

What it reported doing in 2024

Classrooms unleashed focuses on 1st - 6th grade students in northern California and northern Nevada. The program blends innovative classroom science education with practical, interactive field study to build stem skills and content knowledge. Sierra Nevada journeys' science educators deliver a lesson unit in the classroom and a field science experience at a local nature area. Students work independently and as groups to make observations, analyze data, and record conclusions in their science notebooks. The cirriculum is designed to directly address state science standards and elicit from students a high level of curiosity, engagement, and enthusiasm for science learning. 7,375 students participated in classrooms unleashed with a 28% average gain score from pre-to post-assessment.community programs: during school days, evenings, summers, and weekends, sierra Nevada journeys facilitates community development partners' programs for more than 28,000 children to increase accessibility to outdoor and stem learning. Partners include elementary schools through a program called classrooms unleashed, family stem nights, camps for children with disabilities, teen leadership camps, and other community-focused organizations. Examples include: youth development network, united cerebral palsy, the children's cabinet, improve your tomorrow, and the boys & girls club of the truckee meadows.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 69% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010881587
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Reno, NV, USA
Phone
7753551688
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.5%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.5%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.75; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.3%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.9% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.5% of revenue deployed · 88.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $179K · 10 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 annual filings from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SEAN HILL (CEO): $179,152 total reported compensation
  • ADAM SCOTT YARNES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $152,496 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.