Golden Gate Bird Alliance Prev Golden Gate Audubon Society Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
946086896
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Berkeley, CA, USA
Phone
5108432222
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,630,497
Expenses
$1,144,108
Assets
$3,378,834
Liabilities
$139,079

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Christina Tarr (President)
  • Mary Wand (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Christina Tarr (President)
  • Mary Wand (Vice President)
  • Chris Okon (Secretary)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Through education, conservation, and habitat restoration, Golden Gate Bird Alliance protects native bird populations and their habitats in San Francisco and the north and western portions of Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

What it reported doing in 2024

Habitat Restoration: Our Habitat Restoration program held numerous events including several Earth Day/Month events. During these events, 1,217 volunteers contributed 12,878 hours restoring and maintaining 8 sites including; Pier 94, Herons Head Park, Crissy Field beach, the native plant perimeter garden at the Bison Paddock and North Lake, and Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline Park in Oakland. Volunteers spent some of those hours working with Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ) at their native plant nursery on Treasure Island, up-potting plants, and pruning/caring for native plants, including some used at our restoration sites. GGBA partners with San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, San Francisco Parks Alliance, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, East Bay Regional Parks District, the City of Alameda, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support these restoration sites.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 41
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 86
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 22%; rating input score 22
  • Program expense ratio: 63%; rating input score 63
  • Fundraising efficiency: $35.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd 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: 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: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 68.5%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.95; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 22% of revenue deployed · 63% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $721K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 22/100.