Bluff Lake Nature Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 841305302
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Denver, CO, USA
- Phone
- 7207084147
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,509,126
- Expenses
- $884,199
- Assets
- $12,671,455
- Liabilities
- $97,456
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JARED LUNER (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- RACHEL HUTCHENS (EXECUTIVE DI): $86,574 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Bluff lake nature center educates individuals to be engaged, resilient, and curious; conserves a natural area in the city; furthers equity in outdoor access; and nurtures the health and well-being of communities and ecosystems.
What it reported doing in 2024
Bluff lake nature center is free and open to the public 365 days a year from sunrise to sunset. In 2024, over 100,000 visitors came to bluff lake to enjoy a few moments of solace and connection to nature, go for a run, or to enjoy an afternoon exploring with their family. Nearly 6,000 area ece- 12th grade students participated in stem based field trip programs, over 80% of these students from title 1 schools (over 50% free/reduced lunch) and came for free thanks to grant funding and donations. On field trips, students learn about habitats, water quality, and more. In 2024, bluff lake also hosted 10 weeks of summer camp for over 450 campers aged 5-17, providing over 100 full and partial scholarship spots to low-income families. Public programming included monthly family days, after-school programs, special program events such as boo on the bluff, and guided walks (bird walks, mindfulness walks, etc.). Bluff lake also hosts an onsite forest school program for homeschool families that is free for the families, thanks to state funding. Each year bluff lake works with over 700 volunteers (including scouts, corporate groups, families, and other nonprofit organizations) doing site projects and facilitating education programs.
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 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. 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: 50
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 86
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 30.4%; rating input score 30
- Program expense ratio: 78.5%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $25.94 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 64.8%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 14.33; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.8%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 18.2% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 30.4% of revenue deployed · 78.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $694K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $87K · 13 people listed
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 30/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.