The Calflora Database

Overview

Mission

The Calflora Database is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information about California plant biodiversity for use in Education, Research and Conservation. Calflora is structured as a digital library to fulfill the following objectives: To serve as a repository for information on California wild plants in electronic formats from diverse sources, including public agencies, academic institutions, private organizations, and individuals. To provide this information in readily usable, electronic formats for scientific, conservation, and educational purposes. To serve public information needs related to scientific study, land management, environmental analysis, education, and appreciation of California plant life. To coordinate and integrate efforts towards these objectives undertaken by scientists, public agencies, private organizations, and members of the public.

Operating model

Revenue model

Earned-program. 69% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.

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 - Program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

• Financial Efficiency: 46
• Transparency & Controls: 55
• Accountability: 38
• Sustainability: 55
• Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Details

• Where the money goes: 40.1% of revenue deployed · 51.7% of spending went to programs
• Governance: 5 of 9 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
• Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $249K in reported program spending
• Leadership: top reported pay $151K · 9 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
• Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
• Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
• Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 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.
• Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

• Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 40/100.
• High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
• High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
• Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 52/100.
• Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 56/100.
• Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
• Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
• High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
• Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.