Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222029048
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2013
Forms available
Form 990 2013
Location
Newark, NJ, USA
Phone
9737998584
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Water Resource, Wetlands Conservation and Management

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,501,657
Expenses
$6,101,594
Assets
$973,170
Liabilities
$973,170

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LINDA WATKINS BRASHEAR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (JAN-MAY 2013))
  • ERNESTO L BUTCHER DEC'D 51514 (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (JUNE 2013-MAY 2014))

Highest reported compensation

  • LINDA WATKINS BRASHEAR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (JAN-MAY 2013)): $532,108 total reported compensation
  • ERNESTO L BUTCHER DEC'D 51514 (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (JUNE 2013-MAY 2014)): $42,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The organization's mission is newark watershed conservation and development

What it reported doing in 2013

The organization, nwcdc, conserved and developed 35,000 acres of watershed land and operated the related pequannock water treatment plant for the city of newark, nj

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 6
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 64.4%; rating input score 64
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 7th 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -35.5%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.16; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -18.3% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6.7% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.2% of revenue deployed · 64.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $532K · 12 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $267K reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2010 to 2013
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

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

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.