Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed Land & Wate

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
650246331
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2009
Location
Estero, FL, USA
Phone
2396572253
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$481,036
Expenses
$415,147
Assets
$1,962,114
Liabilities
$10,978

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT LUCIUS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • BEN NELSON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT LUCIUS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $91,491 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 mission of the crew trust is the preservation and stewardship of the water resources and natural communities in and around the corkscrew regional ecosystem watershed.

What it reported doing in 2024

The crew trust coordinates land acquisition, protection, and management in lee and collier counties while also providing environmental education programs to further its mission. Programs include science seminars for children of all ages and college students, along with guided hikes for the public and other groups to create public awareness of the watershed and its critical role in sustaining all forms of life in southwest Florida. During this fiscal year, we welcomed 87,110 visitors to crews trail systems. We expanded the reach of the purple and orange trails, opened the white trail, and opened the kehl oaks campsite. We offered 37 guided trail walks to the public, and offered 58 lecture programs and speciality hikes. We provided environmental education to 1,604 k-12 students, 677 college students, and 786 adult learners. We engaged with 1,052 individuals at off-site events in service of increasing awareness of our mission and organization.

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 90% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.6%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 70.4%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.7%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.73; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 63.6% of revenue deployed · 70.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 27 of 27 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $292K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $91K · 28 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.