Empire Ranch Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
860880702
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Sonoita, AZ, USA
Phone
5204555757
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$108,687
Expenses
$87,586
Assets
$250,800
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Faith Boise McCabe (President)
  • Rick Collins (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Faith Boise McCabe (President)
  • Pam Perry (Secretary)
  • Steve Boice (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

The primary purpose of the Foundation is the historic preservation of the Empire Ranch, both buildings and improvements, educating the public on the Western heritage of the area and developing an appreciation of the ranch for rural and urban volunteers and visitors.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Cowboy Festival (previously called Round Up) is held in the Fall. The event brings in visitors and volunteers from all walks of life. The day has many exhibits and arena events which highlight ranch life. Local authors are given a venue to promote books which showcase the Western Ranching heritage of the South West. Other events, Tours of the Ranch, Western Movie showings and the Ranch Spring Trail Ride also educate the public as to our Western Heritage.This year the event was held over 2 days.

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

SUPPORTED - 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: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.2%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 81.4%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • 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: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19.4%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.86; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.2% of revenue deployed · 81.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $71K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 11 of 12 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.