Kern Fire Safe Council

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
203637576
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Pine Mountain Club, CA, USA
Phone
6616196841
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fire Prevention

Reported finances

Revenue
$213,792
Expenses
$230,709
Assets
$72,915
Liabilities
$2,646

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Wendy Ward (Vice Chair): $32,004 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of The Kern Fire Safe Council through education, collaboration, and action is to safeguard the people of our communities and their property from the effects of catastrophic wildfire.

What it reported doing in 2024

Kern Fire Safe Council Fire Education House project funded by CAL FIRE-CCI/WPG. The grant funded KFSCs registration and participation in a series of high-visibility community events throughout the fiscal year including the Spring and Fall Home & Garden show which were 3 day events. The Outreach Coordinator set up booths to share strategies for reducing wildfire risk, answer questions, and demonstrate effective actions for homeowners. Educational materials were distributed, focusing on home hardening, defensible space, and Firewise certification. Brochures provided low-cost upgrades and checklists for maintaining a safe perimeter around homes. The Firewise handouts detailed program benefits, such as technical assistance and access to funding.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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 voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.4%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 81.9%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -7.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.32; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 64.9% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 35.7% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.4% of revenue deployed · 81.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 5 board members independent · 0 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $189K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $32K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 16 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.