Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
330545786
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2015
Location
Newport Beach, CA, USA
Phone
9499232269
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$671,753
Expenses
$756,489
Assets
$258,107
Liabilities
$171,863

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Bryan Tsu (President)
  • Stacey Tutt (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Heather Cieslak (Key Employee): $79,218 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Protection, conservation, restoration of Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve Nature Preserve. To educate the public of the importance of care and protection of Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve and Nature Preserve.

What it reported doing in 2024

Organization of community based native habitat restoration and other service activities that involve the public and local businesses in the stewardship of the Bay. Conducting of environmental education programs and nature tours for school, college groups and the general public to educate them about the Bay and increase their awareness and appreciation of the Bay and help them to understand their role in protecting the environment. Support of science based adaptive management of the areas tidelands and uplands inclucing water, habitat and wildlife monitoring, research and implementation of conservation projects as well as providing management services. This includes advocating for and facilitiating the integrated, sustainable management of the large area of central Orange County, CA that drains into the ocean via the Bay.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 64% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.5%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 78.5%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th 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: 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -12.6%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.67; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.5%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.5% of revenue deployed · 78.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $594K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $79K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2010 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.