Irvine Ranch Conservancy
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 455412769
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Irvine, CA, USA
- Phone
- 7145084757
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Natural Resources Conservation and Protection
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $9,027,560
- Expenses
- $8,509,575
- Assets
- $7,099,899
- Liabilities
- $2,548,660
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MICHAEL O'CONNELL (PRESIDENT & CEO)
- Dave Raetz (VICE PRESIDENT & CAO)
Highest reported compensation
- MICHAEL O'CONNELL (PRESIDENT & CEO): $335,525 total reported compensation
- Nathan Gregory PhD (Sr VP, Chief Programs Officer): $225,864 total reported compensation
- Dave Raetz (VICE PRESIDENT & CAO): $225,097 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 stewardship and land management services to property owners and others, to help property owners protect, preserve and enhance wilderness and natural habitats on their protected lands, and to offer a range of recreational and educational public programs.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 67% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 64
- Transparency & Controls: 89
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 40
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 71.5%; rating input score 71
- Program expense ratio: 75.1%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- 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: 5.7%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.83; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13.1%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 71.5% of revenue deployed · 75.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $336K · 13 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Conflict-of-interest policy not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.