Save Our Wild Salmon

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911673170
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2063001003
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$753,472
Expenses
$702,507
Assets
$434,805
Liabilities
$44,152

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TOM STUART (PRESIDENT)
  • GIULIA GOOD-STEFANI (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JOSEPH BOGAARD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOSEPH BOGAARD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $104,030 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 protect and restore abundant, self-sustaining, harvestable populations of salmon and steelhead to the columbia and snake river basin and the marine waters of the pacific northwest for the benefit of people, wildlife and ecosystems. Wild salmon and steelhead, resilient rivers and watersheds, vibrant communities are cornerstones of a healthy environment and sustainable economy and culture for the pacific northwest

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, sos lead/coordinated numerous successful multi-partner, multi-pronged campaigns to support and expand public support and political leadership to urgently develop and deliver a comprehensive regional package to protect and restore abundant columbia and snake river salmon and steelhead populations, including the removal of the four lower snake river dams and the planning and investments to replace their current services - energy production, irrigation water and barge transportation. Sos is actively involved in constructive dialogues with energy, agricultural and other interests and inland northwest community leaders and members to identify shared values and common ground to help develop an urgent regional solution that restores salmon, invests in communities, upholds our nation's obligations to northwest tribes, and ensures a reliable, affordable and increasingly clean regional energy system. Sos planned and executed several dozen public events with partners that featured speakers, films, presentations, educational events, receptions and more. We maintain regular contact with many northwest congressional and governors' offices, and local elected officials, and have developed regular dialogue and productive working relationships in the biden administration, many tribal leaders and state-level policymakers.

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.

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: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 84.6%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $25.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th 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; 63rd 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: 6.8%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.62; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.8%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.5% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.9% of revenue deployed · 84.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $594K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $104K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.