Laguna Greenbelt Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237111922
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Laguna Beach, CA, USA
Phone
9494991142
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Beautification and Aesthetics

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$168,489
Expenses
$162,268
Assets
$675,735
Liabilities
$75,240

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NORM GROSSMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • MADELEINE PETERSON (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • NORM GROSSMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • MADELEINE PETERSON (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KATE CLARK (SECRETARY)

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

The specific purposes shall be to engage in and otherwise promote for the benefit of the general public the preservation and acquisition of natural resources of the county of orange, including but not limited to open spaces, fresh and sea water resources, marshland, swamps, woodland, slopes, ridgelines and open spaces and the plant, and animal life therein and engage in and otherwise promote the study of, and to engage the public, regarding local natural resources including plants, animals, birds and other wildlife.

What it reported doing in 2024

Aquiring and preserving open space: wildlife corridor we continue our campaign to complete the wildlife corridor linking our coastal wilderness parks with inland/mountain parks and open spaces in orange county. We further addressed our mission to acquire and preserve open space, particularly in parcel 5, an open entrance to our park. To do so, our officers and our contracted project consultants.1. Met regularly with the wildlife corridor working group; met with the southern region of the state's 30 x 30 project; met with elected officials and groups in neighboring cities, and were in attendance at statewide planning meetings. 2. Sought and received external funding for research and development of the corridor. 3. Laguna greenbelt, inc. Hired and supervised interns experienced in land planning. 4. Produced monthly digital newsletters and updates of websites and broadened our social media presence to promote the project and report our progress in the same media.5. Met continually with representatives of the statewide 30x30 project after being identified as the top priority for future funding.6. Met with irvine council members to resist creation of a new trail, open to human and domestic dog incursions to area adjacent to our restricted-use park. Our volunteer board members made presentations about our work to government agencies, to various civic groups, and to our supporters through our organization's newsletter and through frequent, timelyvisits to various councils' hearings and on-site meetings to advance the partner charter of support for the planned corridor

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 61% 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

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.5%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 84.9%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.71 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 38; 38th 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: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.7%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.16; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.6% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.5% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.5% of revenue deployed · 84.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $138K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 38/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.