Refugia Marin

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
920458533
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Larkspur, CA, USA
Phone
4157065115
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$657,675
Expenses
$499,500
Assets
$306,087
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JILL REA (President)
  • Kristina Wilson (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Dana Swisher (Executive Dir.)
  • JILL REA (President)
  • Kristina Wilson (Vice President)

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

Our mission is to create thriving habitat gardens for local pollinators and wildlife. We transform neglected public spaces in Marin County by removing invasive species and planting native California landscapes. Our goal is to support biodiversity and enhance the beauty and sustainability of these spaces.We promote community stewardship and provide environmental education. Through partnerships with cities and school districts, we maximize the habitat potential of their lands. We educate youth, families, and community members through talks, educational signage, and school assemblies, emphasizing the importance of sustainable stewardship.

What it reported doing in 2025

1: Corte Madera Town Park Habitat Garden The final Phase 4 was installed in January. Informational signs were installed. Our volunteer Refugia Rangers had ten maintenance work days. 2: Corte Madera Wilds at Pixley Pond The planting at the pond was completed spring 2025. ? This pond enhancement will become a sanctuary for wildlife and a hub for watershed education. 3: Hall Middle School Native Plant Garden installation completed.A grant from the CA Wildlife Conservation Board administered by ROOTS under Point Blue Conservation, was fully installed and completed November 2025. Educational materials have been developed. 4: East Corte Madera Community Garden Refugia Marin has contracted with the Town of Corte Madera to install and maintain this Peoples garden, a food and habitat resource. This community garden has been USDA-approved as a Peoples Garden. 5. Watershed Education Continues with a third NOAA Grant awarded? Refugia Marin is partnering with Neil Cummins and NOAA to inspire 4th and 5th graders with hands-on lessons about the vital role of native plants in protecting our watershed. 6. The Dan Stralka Memorial Garden at Dominican University is now a Refugia Marin maintained and enhanced garden. The habitat garden is being enjoyed by the community and used by several classes on campus for hands on research and education. 7. Marin Sonoma Water Wise Garden Tour Answered questions from 100+ visitors to our demonstration Habitat Garden at Corte Madera Town Park. Gave out seeds and educational materials on water wise native plants and pollinators. 8. Larkspur Library A Habitat Garden agreement has been signed with the Town of Larkspur. Installation of a 16,000 square foot to be installed spring 2026.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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

STRONG - 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.9%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 94.5%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $45.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 74; 74th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 24.1%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.61; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 86% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 65.6% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.9% of revenue deployed · 94.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $472K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.