Erie Bird Observatory

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
824134595
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Erie, PA, USA
Phone
8145808311
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Bird Sanctuary, Preserve

Reported finances

Revenue
$254,965
Expenses
$191,954
Assets
$138,524
Liabilities
$375

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOE SIEGRIST (PRESIDENT)
  • PAUL BURROUGHS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • HOLLEY SHORT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SARAH SARGENT (FORMER EXEC. DIRECTOR): $22,000 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 provide avian research, education and conservation along the Pennsylvania shoreline of Lake Erie. The organization is dedicated to fostering enthusiasm for birds and conservation through ornithological research and public engagements.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, EBO continued ongoing bird monitoring and education programs. Some of the highlights include: 1. Morning Flight Watch: We documented almost 980,000 birds flying past our migration monitoring watch during the spring migration season. 2. Banding Station: We banded 3963 birds and welcomed 1414 visitors at our banding station at Presque Isle State Park., 3. BirdSafe Erie: We conducting monitoring around tall buildings in Erie during migration to determine mortality during migration season. 4. Shorebird Monitoring: We monitored shorebirds at Presque Isle daily from mid-April to mid-August. 5. Education: We offered 58 educational events, including bird walks and other outdoor learning adventures. 6. Volunteers: 58 people contributed 600 hours of work during the course of the year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 68% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.2%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 95.9%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 24.7%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.5%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.5% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.2% of revenue deployed · 95.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $184K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $22K · 9 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.