Malama O Puna

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
990349958
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Pahoa, HI, USA
Phone
8089652000
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$246,032
Expenses
$223,989
Assets
$218,698
Liabilities
$96,917

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JESSICA WILKES (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • TIMOTHY ROWAN (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • JESSICA WILKES (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SHERRY KELSO (SECRETARY/TREASURER)
  • TIMOTHY ROWAN (PRESIDENT)

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

Malama o puna is a hawai'i non profit 501(c)(3) corporation and volunteer service organization that focuses on environmental health, community sustainability, and stability. Our mission is to protect critical habitat, native species, open spaces and traditional cultural landscapes for future generations through hands-on projects, environmental education, advocacy, and networking

What it reported doing in 2024

Mlama o puna carries out additional community stewardship and recovery initiatives throughout the puna district. Activities include maintaining county conservation properties such as the wai'ele coastal parcel; supporting klauea eruption recovery and agricultural access along the kealoha agricultural road; coordinating the waiwai stewardship project to restore native habitat and protect water resources; and providing public education on environmental protection, invasive-species control, and sustainable land management. These projects advance the organization's mission to protect and restore the natural and cultural resources of puna.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 90% 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 - 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 some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.3%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 84.5%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 9th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.98; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.44; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.7% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.3% of revenue deployed · 84.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $189K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 20 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2020 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.