I-20 Wildlife Preserve & Jenna Welch Nature Study Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261270576
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2012
Location
Midland, TX, USA
Phone
4328539453
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$262,633
Expenses
$393,849
Assets
$1,056,024
Liabilities
$1,249

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELAINE MAGRUDER (President)
  • MCLEAN SMITH (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • WES FARIS (Executive Dir.): $87,814 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 ensure conservation, restoration, education, research and outdoor enjoyment of midland's urban playa for present and future generations.

What it reported doing in 2024

Playa Wetlands Research Institute/CONSERVATION JOB CORPS PROGRAM: The preserve continues to provide biology professors with a place to instruct their students in the field. UTPB professor, David Hembry brings his class for specific instruction on identification, classification, and taking field notes. Additionally, he has oversight of 1 student doing pollinator research at the preserve. THE CONSERVATION JOB CORPS PROGRAM ALLOWS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH AN INTEREST IN MEDICINE, BIOLOGY AND LIFE SCIENCES AN OPPORTUNITY TO OBTAIN HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE IN CONSERVATION, RESTORATION, EDUCATION AND RESEARCH BEFORE ENTERING COLLEGE. THE PROGRAM BLENDS LIFE SKILLS LESSONS, SUCH AS LEARNING TO USE TOOLS, WITH CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, AND HANDS-ON EXPLORATION AND OBSERVATION. STUDENTS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INVESTIGATE SEVERAL TEXAS ECOSYSTEMS, AS WELL AS MEET WITH EXPERTS, SCIENTISTS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS ON THEIR FIELD TRIPS ACROSS THE STATE.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% 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. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 59.1%; rating input score 59
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -50%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.68; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.3%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.4% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89% of revenue deployed · 59.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $233K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $88K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 59/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 54/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.