Environment California Research & Policy Center

Legal name: Environment California Research and Policy Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
680531882
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
2132513688
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$713,419
Expenses
$1,147,511
Assets
$1,514,852
Liabilities
$690,282

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WENDY WENDLANDT (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LAURA DEEHAN (STATE DIRECTOR): $55,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To protect California's air, water, and open spaces.

What it reported doing in 2024

Public education and outreach: recruiting volunteers, distributing educational literature, conducting surveys, and discussing issues with the public, reaching thousands of citizens each year on the following issues: promoting clean energy strategies, protecting our oceans, and working towards clean transportation options.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 65% for direct work, and 35% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 86.9%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -60.8%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.32; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.46; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.8%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 18 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 86.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $997K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $55K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 21 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.