Save the Sound
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 060990195
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- New Haven, CT, USA
- Phone
- 2037870646
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $9,940,222
- Expenses
- $8,965,735
- Assets
- $21,990,406
- Liabilities
- $1,803,345
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
24 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LEAH LOPEZ SCHMALZ (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- LEAH LOPEZ SCHMALZ (PRESIDENT): $184,907 total reported compensation
- ALICIA SULLIVAN (EVP, PHILANTHROPY): $180,669 total reported compensation
- JANEL CRITE (EVP, FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION): $163,381 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of save the sound is to protect and improve the land, air, and water of the whole long island sound region. We use legal and scientific expertise and bring people together to achieve results that benefit our environment for current and future generations.
What it reported doing in 2024
The long island sound program uses community science, education, advocacy and on-the-water watchdog activities to protect and restore the health of long island sound and its watershed. Last year the program coordinated the unified water study, published a report on long island sound's environmental health, led advocacy and education efforts that resulted in investment in long island sound initiatives by the federal government, and increased the visibility of our soundkeeper subprogram, which patrols the waters of the long island sound to ensure pollution is stopped.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 83% 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
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 63
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 59
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 67.1%; rating input score 67
- Program expense ratio: 70.4%; rating input score 70
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th 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 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 9.8%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.45; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 12.3%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 67.1% of revenue deployed · 70.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $6.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $185K · 24 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.