Nextgen Climate America Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
462525580
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
Phone
6507048430
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,101,248
Expenses
$6,666,390
Assets
$2,035,624
Liabilities
$312,402

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ARNOLD SOWELL (BOD, DIRECTOR / ED): $308,880 total reported compensation
  • ADRIANA SANCHEZ-OCHOA (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $240,298 total reported compensation
  • BRIAN WEINBERGER (SENIOR POLICY ADVISOR): $237,347 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Fights to advance policies and programs that focus on equity and justice for all californians. Nextgen policy's work focused on protecting communities from the impacts of climate change; addressing issues of college access and affordability; training and upskilling workers seeking good-paying jobs; combating hunger and food insecurity, especially among California's school-age kids; and expanding access to higher-quality, affordable broadband services.

What it reported doing in 2024

California policy nextgen policy provided policy analysis and public education around public policy proposals during the 2024 legislative session. Nextgen policy's work focused mainly on the key issue areas of climate, income inequality, criminal justice reform, higher education, healthcare, food and housing insecurity, inclusive democracy, and workforce development. In 2024, nextgen policy held a series of briefings and community outreach events, and published a wide selection of reports. Highlights include ab 1160 legislative briefing, climate 100 budget analysis: "commitment at risk - budgeting for climate action in challenging times," public sector workforce impact report, automatic voter registration report briefing, crisis of internet affordability legislative briefing, student debt workshops, school nutrition workforce legislative briefing, and free my future loan debt summit.in 2024, nextgen policy administered one state grant supporting rehabilitative services for justice-impacted youth and one federal grant promoting registered apprenticeship programs across California.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 81% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.1%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 81%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 96.4%; rating input score 96; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.1%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.31; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.1% of revenue deployed · 81% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $309K · 12 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $420K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 8 filed related-organization links
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.