Endangered Habitats Conservancy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
204349028
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
Phone
6192841121
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,449,584
Expenses
$1,759,795
Assets
$70,461,610
Liabilities
$524,007

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • D SCOTT GRIMES (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MICHAEL J BECK (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL J BECK (PRESIDENT): $205,440 total reported compensation
  • D SCOTT GRIMES (VICE PRESIDENT): $180,968 total reported compensation
  • DR DANIEL SILVER (BOARD MEMBER): $95,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Is to acquire, manage, monitor and maintain land in California for habitat protection and restoration, agricultural preservation, and other conservation purposes. Ehc currently manages approximately 8,000 acres of conserved open space lands.

What it reported doing in 2024

Developed and advanced the acquisition of sensitive riparian and coastal sage scrub habitat in the san diego region. Activities included interfacing with state and federal wildlife agencies, planning and analysis, dialogue with property owners, the development of legal agreements, creating habitat management plans and strategies, commissioning wildlife movement studies and other biological monitoring contracts, conducting site visits, gis mapping of resource values, and finalizing and implementing public grant agreements. Implemented habitat stewardship and habitat restoration plans at sites in san diego county. Activities included revegetation, control of invasive plants, volunteer coordination and biological monitoring.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 61% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 49
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 47.5%; rating input score 47
  • Program expense ratio: 92.2%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $101.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 60.9%; rating input score 61; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 20%; rating input score 20; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 49%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 40.04; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.5%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 47.5% of revenue deployed · 92.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $205K · 5 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $150K reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 47/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 20/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.