Keep Tahoe Blue

Legal name: League to Save Lake Tahoe

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
946128680
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
South Lake Tahoe, CA, USA
Phone
5305415388
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Religion Related N.E.C.
Affiliation
Religious (unspecified)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,940,330
Expenses
$4,107,624
Assets
$14,239,770
Liabilities
$751,979

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DARCIE GOODMAN COLLINS (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • DARCIE GOODMAN COLLINS (CEO): $204,445 total reported compensation
  • JESSE PATTERSON (CHIEF STRATEGY OFR): $158,460 total reported compensation
  • KRISTIANA ALMEIDA (COO): $156,207 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 Spurlock/Evers Environment & Education Center connects science, community, and action to protect Lake Tahoe for generations to come. For many years following Tahoe’s discovery the area was virtually ignored. In 1859 however, the Comstock Lode was discovered in Virginia City, Nevada. During the 1860s Tahoe became the center of a lively commerce involving the silver mines in Virginia City and the Central Pacific Railroad (which was pushing over the Sierra toward the town of Truckee). The Comstock era resulted in large-scale deforestation of the Tahoe Basin, as timber was required to build mine shafts and support growing developments. It is estimated that over 80 percent of the Basin’s forests were clear cut during this time. Since then, public appreciation of Lake Tahoe and its natural resources has grown. During the 1912,.

What it reported doing in 2024

The league protects and preserves tahoe through our programs, initiatives, and advocacy. We tackle invasive species, combat pollution, and advance restoration to keep tahoe blue. Combat pollution-litter initiatives:2024 marked the eleventh year for the keep tahoe blue cleanup program with cataloged data. With this data, our staff created a trash dashboard, displayed on our stopping litter at its source webpage to visually display the data collected over the years. The league hosted 29 league cleanup events this year, with over 1,400 volunteers removing over 4,000 lbs. Of litter. Bebot: in 2024, the bebot (robot beach combing machines) fleet performed 21 cleanings across 11 beaches, cleaning over 1m square feet of beach area. Plastic litter was the most prevalent form of subsurface litter along tahoe's beaches this year, which has been consistent throughout bebot operations. At&t lead cable removal: the league worked directly with att, their contractor, and with all local permitting agencies to remove miles of abandoned lead telecommunications cables from lake tahoe in 2024. The remaining lead cable above water level will be removed in 2025.south lake tahoe plastic water bottle ban: the municipal ban on the sale of plastic water bottles in south lake tahoe passed in april of 2023. On earth day 2024 (april 20th), the commercial ban became effective and league staff audited all businesses in the city for compliance, provided education and resources to business owners, and sought feedback and barriers. By the end of the audit, 90% of businesses in the basin were in compliance.tahoe blue beach program: in the summer of 2024, the league and the usfs rolled out a new program built around a flexible approach to upgrading beach management. The pilot, now known as the tahoe blue beach program, began at zephyr cove and shoals in partnership with the forest service site's concessionaire after several years of planning. As a result of the first year pilot implementation, at the league's annual july 5th cleanup, volunteers found 97% less trash at the site compared to the prior year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53%; rating input score 53
  • Program expense ratio: 66.7%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.5%; rating input score 95; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • 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: 30.9%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.47; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.7%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.5% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 53% of revenue deployed · 66.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $204K · 26 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $2.1M reported
  • Consistency: 42 of 43 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.