Monterey Audubon Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942397544
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Carmel, CA, USA
Phone
7604209299
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$208,868
Expenses
$155,157
Assets
$439,827
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BLAKE MATHESON (PRESIDENT)
  • SHANNON SIMPSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMANDA PREECE (CONSERVATION COMMITTEE CHAIR): $32,083 total reported compensation
  • SHANNON SIMPSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $27,221 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 monterey audubon society is a volunteer organization dedicated to conserving and celebrating the birds and wildlife of the greater monterey bay region. Our chapter includes 1,200 members throughout monterey and parts of santa cruz and san benito counties. We engage in an array of educational, community science, and advocacy initiatives geared toward protecting the region's birds and its biological diversity.

What it reported doing in 2024

Ancillary program support in education, outreach, bird conservation/preservation. Promote nature literacy by hosting multiple free monthly field trips focusing on beginners, youth, and participants with disabilities, conducting presentations at schools and senior centers, and engaging in public outreach at farmer's markets and nature-themed community events, like earth day and wildlife day, inviting people of all backgrounds to connect with the birds around them.advocate for policies that balance access to nature along with the protection of sensitive sites and species, leading to fruitful partnerships with local government agencies, cities, and nonprofits. The following are some examples of this outreach: bird banding handling and demos using avian biometrics, public dissemination of seabird monitoring program information using ebird software apps and other methods, avian census work throughout monterey county and logistical support for our young birders birding program, snowy plover guardian volunteer program and other related efforts.concluded work on grant for creating the map and bird species list in monterey county. Concluded work on the "important bird areas" (iba) project. Received two grants for new work supporting a low income community in salinas by providing an after-school nature program. Received two other small grants supporting inclusive birding activities in the community for people of all backgrounds, abilities, and ages.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 87% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 88% 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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 48
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 73
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 52%; rating input score 52
  • Program expense ratio: 50.3%; rating input score 50
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

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: 63.1%; rating input score 63; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 25.7%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.83; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 38.2%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -8.8% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 28.3% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 52% of revenue deployed · 50.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $78K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $32K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 52/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 50/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.