Bushlife Conservancy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814694167
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Davis, CA, USA
Phone
7032984875
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$403,011
Expenses
$332,076
Assets
$728,174
Liabilities
$102

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Nick Murray (President)

People named in this filing

  • Nick Murray (President)
  • Elizabeth Brock (Treasurer)
  • Ed Callen (Secretary)

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

Our mission is to conserve biodiversity in the Mana Pools UNESCO site and surrounding Zambezi Valley of Zimbabwe through anti-poaching, infrastructure development, community engagement, and research.

What it reported doing in 2024

No elephants were poached in Mana Pools National Park during the year. All collared elephants were protected from legal hunters when they wandered into adjacent hunting concessions. Funding was provided for the following activities conducted with Zimbabwe Parks Authority in Mana Pools and the surrounding Zambezi Valley of Zimbabwe: (1) informer rewards paid upon the recovery of elephant tusks in a city not far from the Park; (2) clearing approximately 900 miles of roads and the establishment of a new remote base; (3) purchasing a vehicle for anti-poaching work; (4) successfully treating iconic bull elephant Tusker for puncture wounds caused by another elephant; (5) confiscating and releasing back to the wild a live pangolin; (6) purchasing and distributing eleven thousand bales of hay to feed cattle of impoverished villagers during a severe drought; (7) conducting sporting events and wildlife quizzes for more than 700 children in villages adjacent to Mana Pools; (8) funding tuition for a weeklong, hands-on conservation education camp for ninety impoverished children from park boundary communities; and (9) engaging in human-wildlife coexistence outreach including community awareness training and conflict mitigation tactics.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 95% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.5%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 96.2%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: $129.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Pass
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 17.6%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.19; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.5% of revenue deployed · 96.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $320K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.