National Disaster Search Dog Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 770412509
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Santa Paula, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8056461015
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Ambulance, Emergency Medical Transport Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,897,659
- Expenses
- $7,606,581
- Assets
- $39,961,739
- Liabilities
- $1,345,391
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- RHETT MAUCK (CEO)
- GEORGE R HAYNES (CEO (FORMER))
Highest reported compensation
- RHETT MAUCK (CEO): $166,322 total reported compensation
- DEBRA J ROETS (DIR. OF PHILANTHROPY): $141,605 total reported compensation
- SERENITY NICHOLS (SENIOR DIR. ADMIN & HR): $132,275 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our mission is to strengthen disaster response in america by rescuing and recuiting dogs and partnering them with firefighters and other first responders to find people buried alive in the wreckage of disasters.
What it reported doing in 2024
Search team training and support: sdf works closely with task forces to meet their requests for new canine disaster search teams and to support existing teams (provided free of charge by sdf). When search dogs reach graduation, sdf pairs them with first responders who have also been trained by sdf during a six-month handler training program. Once paired, all sdf teams receive advanced training and comprehensive veterinary care throughout their careers, to ensure they achieve and maintain certification for deployment. Through our search team grants, sdf also provides financial assistance to sdf and non-sdf teams for equipment, other costs related to training, and for veterinary care of non-sdf dogs to help them remain healthy, well-equipped, and ready to respond when disasters strike. Our 125-acre campus features unique canine search facilities and disaster simulation training props that are also made available, free of charge, to other first-response groups, benefiting hundreds of working dog teams each year.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 44
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 88.7%; rating input score 89
- Program expense ratio: 78.4%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.86 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 23rd 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: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -10.3%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.25; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 88.7% of revenue deployed · 78.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $166K · 16 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.