McKenzie River Trust

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
931029808
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Eugene, OR, USA
Phone
5413452799
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,947,444
Expenses
$6,100,100
Assets
$27,345,967
Liabilities
$1,445,535

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARIAH ACTON (President)
  • SHOSHANA COHEN (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOE MOLL (Executive Dir.): $136,679 total reported compensation
  • ALLEGRA BURDICK (DIR OF FINANCE): $110,554 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Acquire and manage land and conservation easements through purchase and donation to ensure long term conservation of clean water, fish and wildlife habitat, and other community values.

What it reported doing in 2024

Land conservation programsacquisition of land or interest in land through purchases or donations from willing landowners. Management and restoration activities on approximately 5,469 acres of owned lands in western Oregon. The trust also monitored 38 conservation easements covering 5,145 acres throughout the service area.conduct educational and informational meetings with landowners and conservation partners throughout service area. Participate in strategic conservation planning efforts with agency and other partners in western Oregon.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 66% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 92% 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

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and the available information about grant readiness federal audit leaves an important question unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.4%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 80%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

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: 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 23.2%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.48; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.1%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.4% of revenue deployed · 80% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $137K · 17 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $694K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.