Texas Ornithological Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
746063782
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Corpus Christi, TX, USA
Phone
9726328228
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$258,724
Expenses
$210,956
Assets
$1,709,716
Liabilities
$25,767

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROMEY SWANSON (President)
  • PAMELA PIPES (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • ROMEY SWANSON (President)
  • LYNN THOMPSON (Secretary)
  • PAMELA PIPES (Vice President)

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

Promote bird habitats

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization continues to provide habitats for migratory and resident birds, reviewed evidence and distribution of birds, and published scientific bulletins as well as magazines. Additional acreage was purchased for the bird sanctuary in 2009, 2018 and 2022 and more acreage donated in 2011, 2017, and 2020.

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 92% 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

SUPPORTED - 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 the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.2%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 52.8%; rating input score 53; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 18.5%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.1; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.2% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 9 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $211K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 22 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 53/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Independent members within voting members did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.