South Yuba River Citizens League

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
680171371
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Nevada City, CA, USA
Phone
5302655961
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,681,945
Expenses
$6,719,451
Assets
$3,057,610
Liabilities
$1,628,368

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GEORGE OLIVE (PRESIDENT)
  • FRAN MURPHY (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • GEORGE OLIVE (PRESIDENT)
  • FRAN MURPHY (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DUSTIN HARPER (TREASURER)

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

Syrcl unites the community to protect and restore the yuba river watershed.

What it reported doing in 2024

The river people program engages the entire watershed community to become involved as volunteers through river ambassadors, river restoration & monitoring, the wild & scenic film festival, special events, and the yuba river cleanup. This program continues to coordinate one of the largest river cleanups in California with more than 800 volunteers. To promote responsible citizen stewardship of the yuba, our river ambassador program connects 10,000 visitors over the 12 weekends in the summer at several river crossings near popular swimming areas along the south yuba river state park. River ambassadors, who are specially trained volunteers, educate the public and assist with promoting fire-safety, recycling, and litter prevention. This was the 13th year of this project, and it continues to raise public awareness that visitors need to "pack out what they pack in."

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 70% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.1%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 85.4%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $24.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th 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: 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: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.6%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.46; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.53; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.5% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.1% of revenue deployed · 85.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $5.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.4M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.