Sustainable Solano Inc

Overview

Mission

To inspire and nurture grassroots initiatives for the good of the whole and to promote ecologically sustainable, economically and socially just future of solano county

What it reported doing in 2024

Sustainable green infrastructurecreating demonstration food forests and community gardens based on permaculture and secondary water; - gardens installed in 2024: 9 - total number of gardens installed: 77 - total water impact: 4.48 million gallons saved or diverted annually - annual food yield: over 2,650 pounds - total number of educational events: 58 - number of attendees: 862 - 4 combined youth wellness sustainable landscaping/cooking internships with 65 teens - working with homeowners association and farms on larger projects

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 68% 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.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
050589694
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2013
Headquarters
Benicia, CA, USA
Phone
7079802890
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Botanical, Horticultural, and Landscape Services

Official website

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 71
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.8%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 86.2%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $33.83 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st 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: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.6%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.53; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24.8% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.8% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.8% of revenue deployed · 86.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $102K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 annual filings from 2018 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

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ELENA KAROULINA (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND DIR): $102,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.