West Atlanta Watershed Alliance

Overview

Mission

The mission of the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance is to improve the quality of life within the West Atlanta Watershed by protecting, preserving, and restoring our communitys natural resources.

What it reported doing in 2024

In partnership with grassroots community-based partners, environmental non-profit organizations, and local collegiate partners such as the Proctor Creek Stewardship Council, Green Team of English Avenue, Cascade Springs Nature Conservancy, Hunter Hills, the Mozeley Park Neighborhood Association, the Student Conservation Association, and Spelman and Morehouse Colleges, WAWA led 25 nature-based, environmental stewardship volunteer projects helping to sustain the 22-acre old growth urban forest at the OAC and other West Atlanta parks and greenspaces in the Proctor, Utoy, and Sandy Creek Watersheds. With these efforts, we cleared over 17,000 sq. ft. of nonnative species and engaged over 500 volunteers to care for the native species, food, and wildlife at the OAC. In addition to the OAC, we cleared non-native species, cleaned West Atlanta waterways, and mapped urban heat islands across West Atlanta neighborhoods through additional volunteers in over 2,170 hours of service, and contributing over $72,471 in volunteer labour to steward the City of Atlantas parks and greenspaces and to advance local climate resilience initiatives.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
200890449
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
4047525385
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Water Resource, Wetlands Conservation and Management

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56.1%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 78.7%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $86.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 77.8%; rating input score 78; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 28.8%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.54; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 30.1% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 27.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 36.7% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 56.1% of revenue deployed · 78.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 9 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $943K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 annual filings from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.