Alliance for Recreation and Natural Areas
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 455343598
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2018
- Location
- Corvallis, OR, USA
- Phone
- 5417579762
- Rating
- 91
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Fund Raising and Fund Distribution
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $56,023
- Expenses
- $61,447
- Assets
- $546,214
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Ellen Tappon (President)
People named in this filing
- Ellen Tappon (President)
- Jeff Powers (Secretary)
- Phillip Hays (Treasurer)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
This corporation's primary purpose shall be to facilitate community-supported projects to enhance recreation and connect people to their natural and cultural heritage in Benton County, Oregon, and surrounding areas.
What it reported doing in 2024
Marys Peak West Point Project. This is a multi-year project started by the US Forest Service to restore meadows in the US Forest Service's Marys Peak Scenic-Botanical Special Interest Area. It is the highest point in the Oregon Coast Range and a popular recreation area and biological reserve. This is a continuation of a project started by the Forest Service in 2014 to remove trees and other vegetation that were encroaching into the meadows. At least 1/3 of the meadows visible in early (1940s) aerial photos have been lost to invading trees. The US Congress awarded funds for multi-agency projects. Part of the restoration area on Marys Peak is on City of Corvallis property and the rest on Forest Service land. The Forest Service was awarded funds for this project. They chose Cascade Pacific RC&D (a 501(c)(3) organization) to manage the funds for the project. Cascade Pacific hired AFRANA to oversee the work. AFRANA hired the Institute for Applied Ecology (a 501(C)(3) organization) to do the on-the-land work to remove invasive species, grow native species from seeds collected at the project site, and restore the native vegetation.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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.
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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 98
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 55
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 95%; rating input score 95
- Fundraising efficiency: $2,056.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th 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: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -9.7%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.89; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 35.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 33.6% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 95% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $58K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.