Puget Soundkeeper Alliance
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 911285783
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Seattle, WA, USA
- Phone
- 2062977002
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Alliance/Advocacy Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,315,382
- Expenses
- $1,262,631
- Assets
- $971,018
- Liabilities
- $115,985
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- PATRICIA BAIRD (PRESIDENT)
- ELANA GARTON (VICE PRESIDENT)
- SEAN DIXON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- SEAN DIXON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $111,567 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To be a trusted leader and collaborator for all communities, in court and on the water, fighting for a healthy puget sound.
What it reported doing in 2024
Law & policy - as an on-the-water advocacy organization, puget soundkeeper works to directly enforce the clean water act through actions ranging from water quality monitoring and legislative and administrative advocacy to taking polluters to court and enforcing the law. To date, over 200 legal actions have been filed through this program and millions of dollars have been spent by polluters to clean up their facilities and restore the communities and ecosystems degraded by their activities. In the past 10 years alone, puget soundkeeper has submitted public comments to decision makers advocating for better policies and regulations for our waterways. Puget soundkeeper is on the sound and in its watershed on foot, by bike, and on the water working to ensure the law is followed, our legal systems continuously improve, and our watersheds and communities are protected.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 89% 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 60
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 42
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 64.8%; rating input score 65
- Program expense ratio: 67.3%; rating input score 67
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th 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: 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: 4%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.77; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -3.2% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 64.8% of revenue deployed · 67.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $849K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $112K · 14 people listed
- Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.