Ten Strands

What it reported doing in 2024

Outdoor learning initiatives: Ten Strands advanced three interconnected initiatives related to outdoor learning, with a primary focus on the California Campaign for Outdoor Learning. Through this campaign, Ten Strands convened leaders across education, health, research, and community organizations to establish a shared vision that every child in California should have regular opportunities to learn outdoors. Activities included cross-sector convenings, research and evaluation coordination, and development of exemplars to support integration of outdoor learning into everyday schooling. Ten Strands, in partnership with Green Schoolyards America, is a founding partner of and continues to support the California Schoolyard Forest System, which seeks to ensure that all public school grounds achieve at least 30 percent tree canopy cover to protect students from extreme heat and the impacts of climate change. In addition, Ten Strands is a member of the statewide California School Garden Coalition and supports advocacy efforts to ensure that every school has a garden, further supporting equitable access to outdoor learning and environmental literacy. Found at: https://tenstrands.org/work/outdoor-learning-initiatives/Sustainable and climate-ready schools: Ten Strands advanced work to support sustainable and climate-ready schools through coalition leadership, professional learning, and systems support. In partnership with UndauntedK12 and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, Ten Strands launched a professional learning series for district and county leaders focused on climate adaptation strategies, including extreme heat mitigation, energy resilience, stormwater management, and emergency planning. This work culminated in the release of a resilience and adaptation toolkit and a recommendations brief to support climate-ready planning statewide. Ten Strands also contributed to coalition efforts supporting implementation of Californias Proposition 2 school facilities bond by informing guidance that integrates climate readiness, energy efficiency, and student health into school facility upgrades. Found at: https://www.climatereadyschoolscoalition.org/Data initiative for environmental and climate action in Californias TK12 schools: Ten Strands advanced a statewide, data-driven initiative to support county and district leaders in assessing and strengthening whole-school sustainability across curriculum, campus, community, and culture. During FY25, the initiative released a first-of-its-kind baseline assessment drawing on data from approximately 1,000 school districts and all 58 county offices of education, establishing a historic statewide picture of environmental literacy and climate action in California schools. Contributing partners include the California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI), UndauntedK12, UC Berkeleys Master of Computational Social Science program, UC Berkeley Computing, Data Science, and Society, and the University of Washington eScience Institute. Found at: https://tenstrands.org/work/data-initiative/

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 71.9%; rating input score 72
• Program expense ratio: 82.8%; rating input score 83
• Fundraising efficiency: $11.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• 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: 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: 14.4%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.09; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 27%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings