Chama Peak Land Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
274506183
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Pagosa Springs, CO, USA
Phone
8884457708
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,954,234
Expenses
$2,688,982
Assets
$746,316
Liabilities
$32,362

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • CALEB STOTTS (EXECTIVE DIR): $110,306 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

" the chama peak land alliance ("the alliance") is a New Mexico non-profit corporation comprised of conservation-minded landowners working collaboratively to practice and promote sound land management in the southern san juan mountains of Colorado and northern New Mexico. The alliance is committed to practicing and promoting conservation for the benefit of land, water, wildlife, and people. The alliance envisions the watersheds of the san juan and rio chama as an interconnected system that thrives on good stewardship and management practices among private landowners, states, tribes, and federal agencies."

What it reported doing in 2025

Wildlife and fisheries: the alliance's wildlife and fisheries program promotes healthy wildlife populations, which are vital to the local economy. Activities are focused on expanding trout, elk, and deer populations by protecting migration corridors, conserving critical habitat, and working cooperatively with local landowners and regulatory agencies. 2025 activity sustainable agriculture & economy & education: cpla advanced sustainable agriculture and rural resilience through education, resource sharing, and community support. Cpla engaged youth through agricultural education and scholarships, amplified local and regional ag voices, connected producers with technical support, and shared timely policy updates with the community. In partnership with the forest stewards guild and various state and federal agencies, cpla hosted the annual rio chama congreso community engagement on watershed and forest outlook. The cpla conservation scholarship program awarded scholarships to local high school graduates. Cpla's firewood for seniors program distributed 146 cords of firewood to 144 local households including 20 homebound residents, combining forest restoration with community support. 20 volunteers participated in 17 home deliveries and 10 distribution events. With support from the caroll petrie foundation, cpla continued its backyard biodiversity community education articles and workshops. Cpla also sponsored the 2025 chama chile ski classic. The thornburg foundation provided funding for the thinking like water public education series.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 88% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.1%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 92.3%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $134.55 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.1%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 25.9% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 24.7% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.1% of revenue deployed · 92.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $110K · 6 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $2M reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.