Hawaii Wildlife Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
990326669
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Paia, HI, USA
Phone
8082808124
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$632,494
Expenses
$759,604
Assets
$210,857
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MEGAN LAMSON (PRESIDENT)
  • HANNAH BERNARD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • HANNAH BERNARD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $71,294 total reported compensation
  • MEGAN LAMSON (PRESIDENT): $46,278 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Native hawaiian wildlife protection, research and education

What it reported doing in 2024

Ka'u coastal restoration -- hwf team and volunteers work to protect native coastal and marine flora, fauna, and ecosystems through marine debris recovery, native plant conservation efforts and estuary restoration. Much of this work takes place within the 1,353 acre forest reserve in wai'ohinu but it has expanded both on hawai'i island, as well as on maui and kaua'i. The program also includes environmental education and estuary restoration efforts across hawai'i island (and now virtually with online curriculum available globally). With various gov't, foundation grants and private donations continuing since 2003, hwf has conducted marine debris recovery efforts along the coast, and initiated projects to protect endangered and endemic species, native coastal-strand plants and to restore anchialine pools in this region and wetlands in other nearby areas.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% 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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 96.4%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 8th 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -20.1%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.5%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 96.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $732K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $71K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.