Ojai Raptor Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 770543286
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Oak View, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8058363825
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Water Resource, Wetlands Conservation and Management
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,299,137
- Expenses
- $1,127,417
- Assets
- $1,306,421
- Liabilities
- $4,028
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Lizzy Chouinard (President)
Highest reported compensation
- Dr Kathryn Rasp (Veterinarian): $107,832 total reported compensation
- Kimberly Stroud (Former ED): $94,359 total reported compensation
- Hendrik C Eksteen (Executive Dir.): $10,184 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Ojai Raptor Center is dedicated to the care and protection of wildlife through the rehabilitation and release of sick, injured, and orphaned animals, participation in scientific efforts that improve standards of care, and education that inspires environmental stewardship. Through its integrated rehabilitation and education programs, ORC contributes to improved wildlife outcomes and increased public awareness across its service region.
What it reported doing in 2025
Wildlife RehabilitationOjai Raptor Center provides specialized medical treatment and rehabilitation in a dedicated facility for birds of prey. In 2025, ORC admitted 879 animal patients originating from 14 counties and responded to 1,134 wildlife hotline calls, serving as a regional resource for the public and partner organizations. Education and Community OutreachORC delivers community education and school-based programming designed to increase awareness of wildlife conservation and the ecological role of raptors. In 2025, these programs reached 2,997 individuals through community events, presentations, and curriculum-based engagement with schools. Volunteer ProgramORCs work is supported by a strong volunteer base. In 2025, 87 volunteers contributed more than 10,000 hours of service across rehabilitation, education, and operational support.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 61
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 62.1%; rating input score 62
- Program expense ratio: 70%; rating input score 70
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th 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: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: 13.2%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.16; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 18.8%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 17.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 62.1% of revenue deployed · 70% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $789K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $108K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 26/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.