Saola Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823731270
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Milwaukee, WI, USA
Phone
4142028705
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,005,247
Expenses
$910,033
Assets
$533,996
Liabilities
$27,606

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR LORRAINE SCOTSON (CEO)

People named in this filing

  • STEVE BURNS (BOARD CHAIR)
  • ANDREW HOLMAN (TREASURER)
  • SUSIE OFFORD-WOOLLEY (DIRECTOR)

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 protect the rich biodiversity of the annamite mountains by leading efforts to prevent unrecoverable biodiversity loss through a combination of direct interventions, empowering national conservationists, conducting applied research and priority setting, and collaborating with key stakeholders.

What it reported doing in 2025

Signed the saola foundation's first memorandum of understanding (mou) with the government of lao, establishing the official framework for the saola search program and strengthening collaboration at national, provincial, and district levels.conducted the most intensive search for the saola ever undertaken, advancing field operations, scientific methods, and ecological understanding of the nam chouannam xang (ncnx) landscape.invested heavily in lao national leadership and technical capacity; strengthened organizational governance through the appointment of two new board members and the recruitment of the foundation's first fundraising and communications director.established annamite mountains conservation ltd. (amc ltd.), a lao-based not-for-profit social enterprise to support long-term national conservation delivery.continued to strengthen institutional capacity, government partnerships, scientific innovation, and national leadership, positioning the foundation for long-term, multi-species conservation impact in the annamite mountains.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.3%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 84%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $20.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th 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: 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: 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: 9.5%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.59; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 25.8% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.2% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.7% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.3% of revenue deployed · 84% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $765K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.