Mariposa Fire Safe Council Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
912160466
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2013
Location
Mariposa, CA, USA
Phone
2099667700
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness & Relief N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,489,346
Expenses
$1,937,410
Assets
$278,086
Liabilities
$7,369

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Carol Dewey (Board Chair)
  • Armando Rios (Board Co-Chair)
  • Richard Potter (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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Promote fire safety in Mariposa County through educating home owners about clearing PRC Section 4291 defensible space, coordinating efforts with various agencies to clear PRC Section 4291 defensible space, etc. Obtain/administer/manage grants for strategic fuel reductions projects, such as constructing fuel breaks, brushing and chipping of defensible space.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Council managed the following CAL FIRE grants: 5GG21146 Bullion Ridge Fuel Break which is now completed. 5GG21143 Mariposa County Brush & Chip program for residential chipping services for defensible space cleared out to 100' from their residents per PRC Section 4291. Some residents received both brushing and chipping for their defensible space, and some residents utilized the program more than once. In 2025 87 services for 17.17 acres were completed. 5GG21214 Storm Damage grant serviced 26 residential homes removed 115 down trees from defensible space due to storms. 5GG22140 Lushmeadows Ladder Fuels Phase One began work on the fuel break. 5GG22142 Bumgardgner Ridge Fuel Break fuel reduction work was completed. 5TR23205 Lushmeadows Ladder Fuels Phase Two began planning work. 5GG23211 Fremont Fuel Break received a Notice of Exemption and on track for work beginning in 2026

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 93% 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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 99.7%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • 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: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -30.1%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.14; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.6% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 99.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 8 board members independent · 0 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1.6M reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.