Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237413415
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Ridgecrest, CA, USA
- Phone
- 4422944258
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Protection of Endangered Species
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $452,916
- Expenses
- $429,952
- Assets
- $18,894,127
- Liabilities
- $439,004
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Roger Dale (President)
People named in this filing
- Ron Berger (Board Member)
- Greg Lathrop (Invest. Chair)
- Laura Stockton (Treasurer)
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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee, Inc. (DTPC), founded in 1974, is dedicated to the recovery and conservation of the desert tortoise and other protected species inhabiting the Mojave and western Sonoran deserts.
What it reported doing in 2024
Land Acquisition and Stewardship: acquiring, protecting, and restoring lands to establish preserve areas that support recovery of the desert tortoise and other protected species.Environmental Education and Outreach: increasing public awareness and understanding of desert tortoises, their natural habitat, and the human activities impacting their populations; encouraging sustainable public use and enjoyment of desert ecosystems.Research: promoting studies of the biology, habitat, and history of the desert tortoise and other rare species; facilitating research that results in improved management and recovery of preserve areas.Collaboration: working with DTPC members and donors, State and Federal government agencies, as well as community stakeholders to support the recovery and restoration of desert tortoises and the ecosystems they inhabit.
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 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. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 94
- Sustainability: 66
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 89.3%; rating input score 89
- Program expense ratio: 88.1%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $542.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th 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: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- 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: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 5.1%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 43.94; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -13.9% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 89.3% of revenue deployed · 88.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $379K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $134K reported
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.