Cascade Sierra Solutions

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
204463950
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2016
Forms available
Form 990 2016
Location
Oregon City, OR, USA
Phone
5033411728
Rating
59
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Pollution Abatement and Control Services

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,559,432
Expenses
$1,393,068
Assets
$820,011
Liabilities
$286,730

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

1 person listed

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of cascade sierra solutions is to conserve natural resources and enhance public health through freight transportation energy efficiency improvements and emissions reduction.

What it reported doing in 2016

Prior to being placed in receivership on march 31, 2014, css consolidated all their outreach centers and activities to their headquarters in eugene, Oregon. The primary goals remained the same: to connect with drivers and fleets, provide education, incentives, and/or financing options and promote epa's smartway technology. Major activity centers on services to the trucking industry to break down the barriers of awareness, capital cost, and regulatory information. Since march 31, 2014, the court appointed receiver has been responsible for winding up and liquidating the affairs of cascade sierra solutions. This activity is described in the attached court order (case no. Xxx-xx-xxxx) and is still continuing.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 18
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.2%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 77.4%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Limited
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.7%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.59; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -52.7% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -34.5% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -25.6% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.2% of revenue deployed · 77.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 1 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $327K reported
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2010 to 2016
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.