Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 222511389
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2021–2022
- Forms available
- Form 990 2020, Form 990-EZ 2022
- Location
- Ray Brook, NY, USA
- Phone
- 5188971252
- Rating
- 30
- Verdict
- REVIEW
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $140,009
- Expenses
- $189,613
- Assets
- $0
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
People named in this filing
- Phillip K Snyder (Program Manager)
- Daniel Zaweski (Secretary/Treasurer)
- William Janeway (Chairman)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Organization's Mission: The mission of the Corporation is to monitor changes to the natural ecosystems of the Adirondack Mountain Ecological Zone with a focus on water quality, atmospheric deposition, fish surveys, and other biological and chemical studies for the benefit of regulatory agencies and the general public. Its mission is accomplished by working with New York State (NYS), other agencies, and the general public through an exchange of objective information.
What it reported doing in 2022
The Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation (the Corporation) was established in 1983 to undertake comprehensive biological and chemical surveys of Adirondack waters, to study the water quality and the effects of acid rain, to disseminate this information and contribute to scientific understanding through studies and outreach. For over 30 years, the Corporation has carried out this scientific and technical mission regarding ecosystem acidification in the Adirondacks. The Corporation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization; it operates out of the New York State (NYS) Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Region 5 headquarters in Ray Brook, NY. To conduct its mission, the Corporation had received support from three sources: the New York State Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), DEC, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2018, support shifted to NYSERDA, DEC and a new agreement with NYS. Work activities undertaken toward the mission goals are performed by highly trained staff, which the Corporation considers to be it greatest asset. The Corporation's history of selecting and retaining key staff has been, and continues to be, critical to the success of the work of the Corporation. The Corporation's Adirondack Lakes Long-term Monitoring (ALTM) Program provided for increased understanding of the processes involved in the lake and stream acidification recovery through interpretation of the trends across lake classes and for participation in more intensive investigations of these watersheds by acquisition of supplemental data and/or by conducting additional field sampling. Due to a reduction in scope and funding, activities were scaled back significantly beginning in 2018. For the ALTM Program, laboratory sampling was discontinued, and field sampling was reduced from previous levels and performed seasonally, supplemented by a moderate level of related activities. Staffing transitioned from 8 full time employees in 2017 to several experienced part time employees since 2018. In 2018, the Corporation received new funding from NYS to provide key fisheries services, which includes laboratory services, and which could possibly help restore brook trout to lakes within the Adirondacks that were previously acidified. Effective 1/1/2023, the Corporation was absorbed into the Ausable River Association Inc for purposes of continuing the programmatic biology and chemistry for long-term sustainability of the Adirondacks.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- No current program activity. The filing reports no program spending for the current year.
The verdict
REVIEW - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 0
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Sustainability: 3
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
- Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -35.4%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 55.7%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -200% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -18.1% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -15.5% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2021 to 2022
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.