Malibu Creek Docents

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954613602
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2024
Location
Calabasas, CA, USA
Phone
2136755620
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$52,040
Expenses
$28,268
Assets
$96,200
Liabilities
$651

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Sasan Sheibani (President)
  • Kerry Perkins (Vice President)
  • Rick Montgomery (Past President)

People named in this filing

  • Sasan Sheibani (President)
  • Kerry Perkins (Vice President)
  • Amber Howard (Board 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-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Founded in 1976, Malibu Creek Docents are an independent 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to educational and interpretive activities designed to help the public appreciate the natural history, environment, and recreational opportunities of Malibu Creek State Park.

What it reported doing in 2025

Visitor Center Native Plant Garden: This project is to redesign and convert the green grass lawn to a native plant garden at the historic Hunt House, now serving as the Visitor Center. This reimagined concept was with the collaboration of the Calif State Parks and Chumash Elders and the garden design provided by the UCLA Landscaping Architecture Department. The garden pathway design is inspired by the Chumash Rainbow Bridge creation story and separates the past pre-European colonization in California and the future potential for rehabilitation from invasive species. This garden will include between 300 and 400 native plants representing 35 different species. Seeds and cuttings have been collected throughout Malibu Creek State Park and are propagated in the State Park nursery. Planting occurs as these native plants grow to a sustainable size. When fully completed in 2026, this will provide visitors (9,264 in 2025) at the Visitor Center the opportunity to walk the native plant garden and view plants they've seen in the park which will be identified with signage and description. This will also provide visitors some of the indigenous people story who had inhabited the park area in the past.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 69% 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 revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 44.9%; rating input score 45
  • Program expense ratio: 79.2%; rating input score 79

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 45.7%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.4; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -8% per year; rating input score 0; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.5% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 44.9% of revenue deployed · 79.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 4 filed program accomplishments · $22K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 45/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.