Nature Track Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 453040646
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Buellton, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8058862047
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Student Services, Organizations of Students
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $547,730
- Expenses
- $571,029
- Assets
- $94,323
- Liabilities
- $19,521
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Sue Eisaguirre (President & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Sue Eisaguirre (President & CEO): $52,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
NatureTrack Foundation connects people of all ages and abilities to the natural world through immersive outdoor experiences, mobility access, and educational programming. The organization inspires stewardship, curiosity, and lifelong learning by providing cost-free, docent-led field trips for students, expanding access for wheelchair users through its Freedom Trax program, and fostering a deeper appreciation of nature through community engagement and film. This work ensures that access to nature is inclusive, meaningful, and transformative for all participants.
What it reported doing in 2024
NatureTrack experienced another year of strong demand and measurable impactacross its core programs.K12 Outdoor Field Trips: During Season 14, NatureTrack delivered 107 docent-led field trips, serving 4,824students throughout Santa Barbara County. These cost-free, curriculum-aligned outdoorbexperiences provide hands-on learning in local natural environments and include students of all abilities, including those who use wheelchairs. The program is supported by highly trained volunteers and maintains small group ratios to ensure a high-quality educational experience.Freedom Trax Program (Mobility Access): NatureTracks Freedom Trax program continued to expand access for individuals withmobility challenges by enabling wheelchair users to independently traverse beachesand trails. During the year, 174 wheelchair users participated in guided outings, with additional individuals accessing nature through the organizations Trax lending program.
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 99% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 85
- Accountability: 69
- Sustainability: 22
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 98.6%; rating input score 99
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 8th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- 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: Fail
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -4.3%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.17; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.1%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 21.2% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 22.1% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $563K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $52K · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- 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: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.