Salem Audubon Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237098433
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Salem, OR, USA
Phone
5035887340
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$153,684
Expenses
$180,040
Assets
$877,671
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL BABBITT (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LAURIE BUSWELL (ADMINISTRATOR): $21,600 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 promote the appreciation of nature and respect for natural places, focusing on birds and other wildlife, and fostering environmental responsibility with programs connecting people with nature.

What it reported doing in 2024

Public programs: salem audubon society offers programs focused mainly on birds in their natural habitats. The programs also emphasis conservation and protection of natural resources. Our monthly meetings are open to the public and feature guest speakers making powerpoint presentations. In the past year, we conducted 10 such public lectures with approximately 400 attendees. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the programs were offered in a hybrid format, with attendance options both in person and through zoom. We also organized and led around 36 field trips and bird walks for the community with a total of around 400 participants. We offered 2 zoom webinars on a variety of topics mostly focused on birds, attended by around 50 participants. These webinars are recorded and upload to the salem audubons youtube channel. Currently we have 49 videos weve produced on this youtube channel, with a total of 3,867 views. Work continued at the nature reserve in west salem.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% 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.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 9th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: -17.1%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.87; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.6% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $180K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $22K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.