Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship

What it reported doing in 2024

Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship (SCMTS) supports local climate & community resilience through trail and landscape stewardship, inclusive community events, free education, paid workforce development, and fire restoration and prevention. 2024 was a great year for us, with: - Ongoing maintenance of over 60 miles of Santa Cruz County trails, including essential trail maintenance throughout the upper portion of Fall Creek Unit of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park ahead of the rainy season to keep trails accessible and safe - We built over 8 miles of brand new trails - A total of 1,020 unique volunteers joined us in the field, including 643 first-time SCMTS volunteers - We hosted a total of 169 events - We also administered the Summer Youth Trail Program for the 7th year running in partnership with the City of Santa Cruz & continue to co-lead the Earth Stewards Program with the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History Other achievements in 2024 included: - National Trails Day: We brought together over 460 volunteers for a day of trail work and fun across 23 local open spaces as part of this nationwide campaign led by the American Hiking Society - Strategic Plan: With the support of our board and other advisors, we completed a new 5-year strategic plan for our organization for 2025-2030 - see below for more detail - Cotoni-Coast Dairies: Our Trail Crew and volunteers teamed up to build the final 3-mile loop of trail on the northern section of the Cotoni-Coast Dairies property. This trail is filled with unmatched ocean views that will put a smile on visitors faces for decades to come, while preserving important cultural sites for the descendants of the indigenous Cotoni tribe through collaboration with the Amah-Mutsun Land Trust. In addition, access was approved! Now that the Bureau of Land Management and the Trust for Public Lands have brokered an agreement, they will begin construction of the necessary parking lot for this new National Monument so the public can gain access. We are therefore putting the finishing touches on this first phase of Cotoni-Coast Dairies trails and expect to be able to open this brand new 9-mile trail network this coming summer. - Mountain Bike, Landscape Conservation & Fire Prevention Pilot: We signed a contract with partners University of California Santa Cruz and California State Parks and were awarded technical assistance from the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program to launch planning for a pilot that will upgrade an unsanctioned mountain bike trail to a well-designed and -constructed trail that will protect against erosion, while also forming a key fire break (see more below in 2025 activities) - Hike & Help: In September 2024, we celebrated a full year of our new Hike & Help program. Consisting of a social hike with some light trail work on Thursday mornings, this program was designed to engage retired community members in rewarding, low-effort stewardship work and spark new community connections. The mix of light tasks created an inclusive atmosphere, allowing participants of all abilities to participate in stewardship. Notable Hike & Help achievements include: - 3,000 feet of trail brushed in DeLaveaga Park to clear trail corridors and improve sightlines - 60 drains maintained in Pogonip Open Space Preserve to help water shed off trails and reduce erosion - 50 feet of erosion repairs on Moore Creek Trail to improve resilience and protect local watersheds - We were also able to clear multiple downed trees on popular within 24 hours to keep the outdoors accessible and safe for allIn total, during the first year of the program we engaged 126 unique volunteers over the course of 48 events, completing 382 hours of trail maintenance and improving 16 local open spaces.- Big Basin Redwoods State Park: We began more Big Basin trail restoration work in late Fall 2024! After supporting clearing and fuel management work in the park post-CZU Complex wildfires in 2023, ou

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 70.2%; rating input score 70
• Program expense ratio: 68.5%; rating input score 69
• Fundraising efficiency: $3.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th 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: 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: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -2%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.5; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 12.1%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 27.6% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 24.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 26.5% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings