Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942759874
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cotati, CA, USA
Phone
7079920274
Rating
51
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Wildlife Sanctuary, Refuge

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,514,571
Expenses
$2,012,618
Assets
$2,481,021
Liabilities
$5,544

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Doris Duncan (Executive Director)
  • Harold Arbit (Board President and Treasurer)
  • Thad Geldert (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Doris Duncan (Executive Director): $80,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of sick, injured and orphaned wildlife and the promotion of understanding and appreciation of wildlife through our Education Outreach Program.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education Outreach and PEEP Programs are designed to share our passion for wildlife and the local community. We nurture a love for wildlife in children. We give dynamic interactive tours. Our program supports the Next Generation Science Standards. The PEEP program educates farmers and ranchers with predation issues and is an extra-curricular activity for visitors to learn how to take care of animals, plants, and gardens. We expanded our educational program this year with starting One With The Wild Wellness to help connect people to natural habitats through wildlife education, rediscovering our own wild instincts through wellness, nurtured by meditation, yoga, and nature, to evoke love, kindness and compassion already resting within us.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 86% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 7
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 8.7%; rating input score 9
  • Program expense ratio: 5.6%; rating input score 6
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.23; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 8.7% of revenue deployed · 5.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $113K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $80K · 4 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $282K reported
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 9/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.