Climate First Replacing Oil & Gas

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
462660066
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Ventura, CA, USA
Phone
8052637408
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Quality, Protection, and Beautification N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$554,908
Expenses
$498,920
Assets
$843,002
Liabilities
$22,298

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Merrill Berge (Chair)
  • Aimee Dewing (Secretary)
  • Araceli Centeno (Director)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

CFROG is a Ventura County-based advocacy and public education organization leading a just energy transition to protect our health, economy, and climate.

What it reported doing in 2025

Increase Science-Informed Air Quality Decision-Making in Communities. This program focuses on gathering information about pollution in local communities in Ventura County. Three primary areas of work: (1) Work with technical partners to deploy air quality sensors measuring greenhouse gases, black carbon, and other pollutants in West Ventura, Oxnard, and Port Hueneme. (2) Organize Community and Technical Advisory Committees made up of local residents and technical partners to direct air monitoring and education efforts. (3) Fill regulatory gaps in pollution data to inform better local and state policy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 75% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.5%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 82.6%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.1%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.69; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24.8% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.5% of revenue deployed · 82.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $412K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.