King County Explorer Search and Rescue
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 911433442
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2014
- Location
- Bellevue, WA, USA
- Phone
- 8187959543
- Rating
- 62
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Search and Rescue Squads
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $142,222
- Expenses
- $49,176
- Assets
- $772,417
- Liabilities
- $2,837
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- VALON MILLER (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- VALON MILLER (PRESIDENT)
- AMBER COSAND (SECRETARY)
- EDMUND TSE (TREASURER)
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
King county explorer search and rescue (kcesar) is a 501(c)(3) all- volunteer organization providing life-saving search and rescue services for the 2 million citizens in king county, wa. We provide people, planning, coordination, logistics, training, and equipment to support emergency response for the king county sheriff's office (kcso). Kcesar is the county's primary ground search and non-technical rescue unit; the "911 of the woods". The unit was founded in 1954 as the first youth-based search and rescue organization in the nation and is the largest of eight units in the king county search and rescue association with volunteers composed of all ages and backgrounds.
What it reported doing in 2024
Search and rescue missions and training programs
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 81% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 27
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 86
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 18.6%; rating input score 19
- Program expense ratio: 49.3%; rating input score 49
- 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: 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 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 65.4%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.71; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 18.6% of revenue deployed · 49.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $24K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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 19/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 49/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.