Sierra Foothills Audubon Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942770544
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Grass Valley, CA, USA
Phone
5304777502
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$83,913
Expenses
$80,303
Assets
$577,389
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RUDY DARLING (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • THERESA THOMAS (BOARD MEMBER)
  • HEATH WAKELEE (BOARD MEMBER)
  • DALE RUBACH (BOARD MEMBER)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

It is the mission of the sierra foothills audubon society to educate ourselves and others to the variety and the beauty of our natural environment and to protect our wildlife and natural places.

What it reported doing in 2024

Science research grants: great basin bird observatory $5,000 institute for bird populations $31,356 regents of the university $4,000 san francisco bird observatory $5,588

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 74% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 78% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.2%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 97.5%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 80.9%; rating input score 81; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 4.3%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.19; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 98.2% of revenue deployed · 97.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $78K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 13 of 14 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.