Parks California

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
831523594
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
Phone
8774559290
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Forest Conservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,359,807
Expenses
$10,651,125
Assets
$17,887,859
Liabilities
$4,556,452

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KINDLEY WALSH LAWLOR (BOARD DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • HEANA CHUNG (VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS & FINANCE)
  • GEOFF KISH (VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMS)

Highest reported compensation

  • KINDLEY WALSH LAWLOR (BOARD DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT & CEO): $287,056 total reported compensation
  • HEANA CHUNG (VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS & FINANCE): $221,800 total reported compensation
  • GEOFF KISH (VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMS): $192,112 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

As California state parks' statutory non-profit partner, we have a clear mission - to help strengthen parks and inspire all people to experience these extraordinary places.

What it reported doing in 2025

Access & belonging: parks California works to ensure everyone feels welcome in California's public lands by removing barriers, uplifting community voices and co-creating experiences where all people can build a lifelong relationship with nature. With our partners, we remove physical, cultural, and financial barriers so that everyone can experience the nature, stories, and history of California's public lands.program service accomplishments continued on schedule o.climate & stewardship: parks California helps care for California's public lands - from mountains and forests to coastlines and rivers - so that everyone can enjoy these places for generations. We invest in climate resilience, steward important ecosystems, and use science-based tools to keep our landscapes healthy. By supporting tribal partnerships, we honor indigenous knowledge and cultural practices that shape how we care for these lands today.parks for the future: parks of the future is parks California's commitment to reimagining how public lands are cared for and experienced. By working together with partners, we help build an inclusive, resilient park system that reflects California's diverse communities and is prepared to meet the needs of a changing world. From wildfire recovery to next-generation workforce development, we help keep California's public lands vibrant, resilient, and welcoming for everyone.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 42% for direct work, and 58% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 84.1%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -144.3%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.68; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.1%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 33.6% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 84.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $287K · 19 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $960K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 93 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 85 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.