Rainforest Flow

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954818043
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Valencia, CA, USA
Phone
3238741940
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Relief

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$693,209
Expenses
$875,713
Assets
$203,279
Liabilities
$12,485

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SAMUEL SCHWAN (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARGARET S MCDOW (VP + CDO): $160,061 total reported compensation
  • NANCY A SANTULLO (ED + Director): $116,480 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To empower global cultures by providing water, sanitation, health and education programs to raise the quality of life of children and adults in context to their cultural and environmental needs.

What it reported doing in 2025

2025 Program Accomplishments- Supported five Indigenous project villages in the Peruvian Amazon throughintegrated Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) programs that improve access tosafe drinking water, strengthen public health, and promote long-term sustainability.- Provided ongoing technical assistance, Water Committee training, governancedevelopment, and operation and maintenance support in all five project villages tostrengthen community ownership and ensure the long-term sustainability ofcommunity-managed WASH services.- Conducted ongoing water quality monitoring, including microbiological andindependent third-party laboratory testing, in all five project villages to help ensure safe drinking water.- Supported preventive public health in two project villages through hygieneeducation, parasite monitoring, anemia screening, and collaboration with Peru'sMinistry of Health.- Documented sustained health improvements in one project village in northern Peru, including a documented 95% reduction in chronic childhood diarrhea over fouryears.- Advanced the development of Rainforest Flow's Global Training and ResearchCenter to support the replication and scaling of its sustainable, Indigenous-ledWASH model through strategic partnerships, training, and knowledge exchange.- Implemented an Intercultural WASH Workshop bringing together representativesfrom ten Indigenous peoples and all five project villages to share sustainable WASHtechnologies, strengthen Indigenous leadership, foster peer-to-peer learning, andbuild a regional network to advance access to safe water and sanitation services.- Expanded strategic partnerships with national and international organizations tosupport the future replication of Rainforest Flow's integrated WASH modelthroughout Peru and the Amazon Basin.- Presented Rainforest Flow's culturally appropriate and environmentally sustainableWASH model at the international FLARE Conference hosted by the University ofEngineering and Technology (UTEC) in Lima, Peru, increasing awareness amongresearchers, conservation organizations, and development professionals.- Rainforest Flow's integrated WASH program and partner village of Yomybato werefeatured in a three-part national television series on TV Per, highlighting theMatsigenka people, the Manu Biosphere Reserve, and sustainable Indigenous-ledWASH solutions.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 73% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 78
  • Sustainability: 12
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.3%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 62%; rating input score 62
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th 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; 21st 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -26.3%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.23; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.6%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.2% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.4% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.3% of revenue deployed · 62% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $543K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $160K · 6 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.