Obsidians

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
936030170
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2021
Location
Eugene, OR, USA
Phone
5417290532
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public, Society Benefit N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$172,931
Expenses
$56,291
Assets
$605,224
Liabilities
$2,805

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Denise Rubenstein (President)

People named in this filing

  • Sue Zeni (Treasurer)
  • Angie Ruzicka (Secretary)
  • Lisa Van Liefde (Director)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Connecting our community to the mountains, waters, and trails of the great outdoors through exploration, education and stewardship.

What it reported doing in 2025

1. To educate the general public about the physical, biological and cultural features of the mountains, forests, waterways and trails of the northwest and more particularly the country surrounding the upper willamette valley;2. To aid and assist in the acquisition of physical, biological and cultural information about the northwest's mountains, forests, waterways and trails;3. To encourage members of the public to visit and explore the northwest's mountains and forests, to experience and explore them in person;4. To organize and conduct educational trips and expeditions for members of the public into these areas with those who are knowledgeable in geology, biology and natural history to further the public's understanding and appreciations of the northwest's mountains and forests; and5. To educate members of the public about the importance of developing their physical and mental capacities and improve their physial and mental health by exploring these areas.6. To provide stewardship opportunities to the general public that help maintain local trails, remove invasive species from sensitive natural areas, plant native species on public land and along waterways, and remove trash and debris from our public beaches.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.7%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 67.4%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.75; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.2% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.7% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $56K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.