Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance

What it reported doing in 2025

Education and Outreach The Wetlands Discovery Program has been inspiring young minds to become more involved in conservation since 1988. We aim to show students, grades 3-5, the value of wetlands and how they support the birds and other wildlife that inhabit them. By giving students practical hands-on experience with these concepts, we hope to encourage them to consider the impact they are having on the earth, and to determine ways that they can make a difference. Key conservation concepts are first covered through materials that are provided to schoolteachers by SCVBA. SCVBA docents then visit the schools to reinforce these concepts by helping students work through activity stations that cover environmental topics ranging from bird adaptations and migration, to human impact and ecosystem interactions. Students are also trained to use binoculars in preparation for the field trip. On the day of the trip, docents lead students on a nature walk around local baylands and challenge them to apply their newfound knowledge. This experience allows students to see and understand how the concepts they have learned play out in the real world. We have also found through student evaluations that most have never been bird watching or visited a wetland prior to our program. After the program's completion, an overwhelming majority of students show an interest in bird watching at the wetlands again. Though we continue to receive positive feedback on this program, we regularly use student and teacher feedback to evaluate our curriculum and make changes to increase its effectiveness. Beyond the Wetlands Discovery Program, we offer several other education programs that are targeted towards both adults and families. These include beginning bird identification by sight and sound, nest box building workshops to create bird habitat, owl pellet dissections, community science activities, and customized programs on local birds and bird adaptations. We are proud to offer a variety of education programs to promote the enjoyment, understanding, and protection of birds and other wildlife, to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Currently we are initiating a new set of school programs with walkable field trips, allowing us to take classes on trips to wildlife habitat while circumnavigating the issue of bus funding. PUBLIC FIELD TRIPS: SCVBA considers the field trips we offer to be an equally important part of our education program. Open to members and to the public, our carefully selected itinerary of destinations, seasonal planning, and experienced field trip leaders ensure attendees leave each trip having had a learning experience. From bird behavior, vocalizations, migration, anatomy, and obviously identification, the trips are not merely show-and-tell, but observe-and-understand. The firsthand experience of seeing local birdlife in all its variety is an experience of a lifetime-one that can be had not just once, but several dozen times a year. We strive to make that available to everyone who wishes to spend a few hours with us, and care about and appreciate our birds. These virtual offerings include an extensive library of "self-guided field trips" covering more than 100 locations in Santa Clara County, an online speaker series featuring artists, authors, and scientists, as well as a growing library of educational content on YouTube. We continue to broaden our outreach efforts with Mandarin Language walks, LGBTQ+ and Women's Walks-all programs that encourage inclusivity and building an accepting community.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 54.5%; rating input score 55
• Program expense ratio: 83.7%; rating input score 84
• Fundraising efficiency: $38.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 18th 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: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 22nd 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: Pass
  • 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: 40.6%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 5; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 20%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings