Sustainable Northwest

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
931152222
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5032216911
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Community Coalitions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,789,117
Expenses
$8,324,952
Assets
$8,103,815
Liabilities
$1,713,504

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DYLAN KRUSE (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DYLAN KRUSE (PRESIDENT): $197,201 total reported compensation
  • NATALIE BENNON (COMMS. & DEV. DIRECTOR): $142,948 total reported compensation
  • LEE RAHR (DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS): $134,478 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Sustainable northwest forges community-led solutions that work for nature, people, and jobs.

What it reported doing in 2025

Energy, water - we believe everyone deserves affordable, clean energy produced locally -- and affordable, clean water. Our clean energy program partners with rural and tribal communities transitioning to clean energy and advances solutions that help communities be more energy independent and resilient to disasters . For example, we passed the nation's most ambitious community microgrid framework in the Oregon legislature in 2025. Our water program focuses on balancing water use among nature, people, and local economies. Our most recent accomplishment is working with ranchers and tribes in the upper klamath basin to restore wetlands, forests, and meadows to improve water quantity and quality in the area, which is especially meaningful in light of salmon returning to the upper basin after the removal of four outdated hydropower dams on the klamath river in 2023 and 2024.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 81% 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.2%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $27.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 22.8%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.97; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.4%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.6% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.2% of revenue deployed · 82.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $6.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $197K · 21 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.3M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 13 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.