The Cibolo
Legal name: Friends of Cibolo Wilderness
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 742564700
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Boerne, TX, US
- Phone
- 830-249-4616
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Environmental Quality, Protection, and Beautification N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,887,948
- Expenses
- $3,852,470
- Assets
- $20,921,982
- Liabilities
- $1,474,049
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JOHN FREUD (PRESIDENT)
- DESIREE WHITNEY (VICE PRESIDENT)
- CAROLYN CHIPMAN EVANS (CEO)
- TOM MENGLER 72024 (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- TY YOUNG (CAO): $171,467 total reported compensation
- CAROLYN CHIPMAN EVANS (CEO): $146,140 total reported compensation
- DIANNA M HOPKINS MBA CFRE (CAO): $126,300 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 inspire conservation, education, and community stewardship of the Texas Hill Country's natural resources.
What it reported doing in 2024
The stewardship program is designed to provide information to the public regarding issues impacting the cibolo creek watershed area as well as general land, water and wildlife. The program consists of three activities: community science - a research activity where staff and volunteers collect crucial data on plants, water, and wildlife that inhabit the organization's property. This data is used to determine the impact on property due to urbanization. Cibolo conservation corridor - a land and water initiative to improve water quality along the upper cibolo creek watershed, protect and restore working lands, and preserve and enhance conservation efforts on public and private lands. Land management - organization's effort to reach out to landowners to provide information on best practices as it relates to stewardship and conservation matters impacting landowner land holdings.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 77% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 68
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 72
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 64.3%; rating input score 64
- Program expense ratio: 80%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $13.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- 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: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 21.2%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.43; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13.3%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 26% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -4.6% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 64.3% of revenue deployed · 80% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $171K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.