Southwest Avian Protection Service

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
844978595
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Dove Creek, CO, USA
Phone
9706772468
Rating
44
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Protection of Endangered Species

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,404
Expenses
$4,127
Assets
$1,277
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Charles Littlejohn (Ex Director)
  • LouAnn Littlejohn (Director)
  • Duane Robinnett (Director of Rehab)

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 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We are now in the process of working with Colorado State University's Dolores and Montezuma County Extension office in their citizen science program. SWAPS supplies, free of charge, diagrams, and instructions on how to build and place Migratory bird nesting platforms. In exchange, the individual supplies SWAPS with vital scientific data pertaining to the platform sight. We also provide medical care and rehabilitation to injured, orphaned, or sick raptors to be released back into the wild. The education center is open to the public providing general ecological, biological, and conservation of raptors.

What it reported doing in 2022

We are now in the process of working with Colorado State University's Dolores county extension Office in their citizen science program. SWAPS supplies, free of charge, diagrams, and instructions on how to build and place Migratory bird nesting platforms. In exchange, the individual supplies SWAPS with vital data pertaining to the platform sight. This would include but is not limited to, the number of acres unusable due to rodents, the number of platforms being used, the number of migratory birds at the end of the season, and the percent of land reclaimed due to the nesting platform or raptor activity.

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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. 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: 11
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 24
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 11.1%; rating input score 11
  • Program expense ratio: 14.5%; rating input score 15
  • 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 23.6%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.31; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 200% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 58% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2,255.8% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 11.1% of revenue deployed · 14.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 4 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $600 in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 10 of 11 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2021 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 11/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.