Coastal Quest

Overview

Mission

Coastal Quest (the Organization) is a nonprofit organization working collaboratively with partners to build resilient coastal communities in California. Our Mission is to accelerate solutions, building resilient coastal communities for people, nature, and the climate.Coastal Quest is committed to catalyzing positive change by placing communities at the forefront of climate resilience and adaptation efforts. By embracing the principles of community-driven solutions and public-private partnership, our organization aims to build a more sustainable and resilient future for coastal regions, where the strengths and voices of local communities are central to shaping and implementing effective solutions to the challenges posed by climate change and ensuring coastal ecosystems are sustained and provide the multiple benefits and value that communities care about.

What it reported doing in 2024

Protecting and Restoring Coastal Ecosystems.Globally, efforts are underway to reframe the role of coastal ecosystems in climate change mitigation and to protect 30% of land and oceans by 2030. There is a significant opportunity to better integrate coastal ecosystems as natural climate solutions, which can protect biodiversity, enhance water quality, and boost community resilience. These efforts align with the Biden Administrations 30x30 America the Beautiful Initiative and global targets. Coastal Quest collaborates with partners to drive the protection and restoration of coastal ecosystems, delivering blue carbon benefits and enhancing resilience to climate impacts. They serve as a hub for dialogues, sharing lessons, pilots, and best practices, providing technical assistance and funding, and fostering political will and public-private partnerships.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 84% 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
311678716
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2016
Headquarters
Berkeley, CA, USA
Phone
5102105269
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Water Resource, Wetlands Conservation and Management

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: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.5%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 83.7%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 96.7%; rating input score 97; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 17th 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.8%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.46; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 25.9%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 36.5% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 35.2% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 35% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.5% of revenue deployed · 83.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $222K · 12 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $103K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 annual filings from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 27 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 20 filed related-organization links
  • 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

12 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Dr Tegan Hoffmann (Executive Dir.): $221,954 total reported compensation
  • Julie Kuchepatov (Senior Director): $160,346 total reported compensation
  • Julio Garcia (Senior Director): $152,487 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.