Ecostudio Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
871730274
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2022
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
9176368437
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$526,946
Expenses
$588,450
Assets
$106,760
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARLEY STUART (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LORI S ESPINOZA (DIRECTOR GLOBAL LEARNING): $26,808 total reported compensation
  • MARLEY STUART (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $23,745 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to unite conservation, education, and the arts for a more just world. We pledge to support conservation efforts in the worlds most crucial ecosystems and advocate for the rights of those whose lands and lives are endangered by environmental threats.

What it reported doing in 2024

U of co boulders ecology & evolution program is part of a credit-bearing course at cu boulder (either 3 credits of ebio lab and/or 6 hours of 4000 level ebio courses) and features experiential learning in ecuador overseen by cu boulder faculty and on-site professionals. Students studied ecology and conservation in one of the most biologically diverse locations on the planet and obtained hands-on experience in principles and practice of ecology and conservation biology. Ecostudio foundation developed the program for cu boulder and contracted providers in ecuador to administer the program. Designed educational programming for us college students; contributed to conservation initiatives in the sites of study; fostered cultural exchange between us scholars and diverse populations across ecuador.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 95% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 28
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.2%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 86.1%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 25%; rating input score 25; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -11.7%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.18; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.6%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.7% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -22% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -41.8% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96.2% of revenue deployed · 86.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 4 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $507K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $27K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Independent voting board scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.