California Wolf Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 330078906
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
- Location
- Julian, CA, USA
- Phone
- 7607650030
- Rating
- 66
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $952,082
- Expenses
- $963,430
- Assets
- $3,738,989
- Liabilities
- $1,318,131
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SHAWNIE WILLIAMS (President)
- CYNTHIA LINKE (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- THERESA ROEHRICH-KOSEN (FORMER ED): $99,290 total reported compensation
- CHRISTINE BARTON (Executive Dir.): $87,759 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
California Wolf Center is dedicated to the return of wild wolves to their natural habitat and to the people who share the landscape with them. We foster communities coming together to ensure wolves, livestock, and people thrive in todays world.
What it reported doing in 2024
Conservation programs: the California wolf center is the largest breeding and host facility for the critically endangered mexican gray wolf in the united states. Cwcs continued participation in the aza safe (saving animals from extinction) for the mexican gray wolf has helped lead to a 50% increase in the return of the mexican gray wolf to its native habitat in Arizona and New Mexico. Cwc has produced two litters of mexican gray pups for sucessful cross-fostering into wild packs since 2017. For the seven packs living at our facility outside julian ca, cwc provides the best care possible with quality food, stimulating enrichment and excellent veterinarian care. Cwc supports conservation programs for the returning population of mexican gray wolves in the southwest and the northwestern wolves in northern California.
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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 41
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 43
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 44.5%; rating input score 44
- Program expense ratio: 45.8%; rating input score 46
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 24th 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- 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: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -1.2%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.88; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 19.4%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 17.2% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 44.5% of revenue deployed · 45.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $441K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $99K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 44/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 46/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.