Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
850220721
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Silver City, NM, USA
Phone
5753881509
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Government and Public Administration

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,512,828
Expenses
$2,470,628
Assets
$1,231,087
Liabilities
$1,231,851

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

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PRISCILLA LUCERO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • PRISCILLA LUCERO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $104,387 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Swnmcog was organized to provide assistance in long-range planning and local administration of state and federal funds. The organization also helps in obtaining grants for specific purposes, helps with administration of various state programs at the local level and compilation of regional statistical reports.

What it reported doing in 2024

The New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration DFA provides annual state appropriations and grant administration support to the Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments SWNMCOG to assist with regional planning, community development, transportation coordination, economic development, and public service programs throughout southwest New Mexico. DFA funding supports operational and programmatic activities benefiting Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, and Catron counties, including youth services, housing initiatives, transportation planning, food security programs, tourism, arts and cultural programs, and regional economic development projects.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 93% 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.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.3%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 7th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.7%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.5; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.2%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 26.1% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 26.4% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.1% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 98.3% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 33 of 33 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $104K · 33 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.