Center for Social Sustainable Systems
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 453163638
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2018
- Location
- Albuquerque, NM, USA
- Phone
- 5053048724
- Rating
- 71
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Management & Technical Assistance
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $422,492
- Expenses
- $129,982
- Assets
- $476,576
- Liabilities
- $2,208
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- JORGE GARCIA (EXECUTIVE DI): $18,133 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The organization envisions a sustainable, healthy, and thriving community where traditions connected to land and water are protected, preserved, and passed on to future generations. The mission is to protect historical acequias, water, and land in the middle rio grande region.
What it reported doing in 2024
While cessos's programs continue to work with community leaders to re- organize the acequias under the New Mexico water legal code our work has expanded beyond acequia preservation to include water and land advocacy and youth development. Program activities include agua sagrada, an initiative where we work alongside our community to protect and preserve the most precious resources - water. This initiative encompasses various pieces, academia ce akatal, water rights educational project and the acequia talk and walk. Goals of our hidden gems program are threefold: 1) it intends to make visibile the individuals and people in informal and formal organizations and their stores of how they are strengthening families/clans, their community, and their neighborhood; 2) uncover the local resources and culture; and 3) to lay the foundation for more connected and functional local systems. Cessos has also developed "ciclos de la tierra: cultivating querencia through mutualismo resolana and self governance," a curriculum representing an ongoing collaborative effort among community members, local organizations, and schools.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 87% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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
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: 54
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 74
- Sustainability: 75
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 26.7%; rating input score 27
- Program expense ratio: 86.6%; rating input score 87
- Fundraising efficiency: $198.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st 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: 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 69.2%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.67; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 27.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 30.7% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 26.7% of revenue deployed · 86.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $113K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $18K · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 27/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.