The Houston Audubon Society
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237011870
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Houston, TX, USA
- Phone
- 7139321639
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Natural Resources Conservation and Protection
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $5,268,352
- Expenses
- $2,185,507
- Assets
- $17,915,447
- Liabilities
- $702,649
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Pamela Smolen (Chair-Elect, Interim President/CEO)
- Jed Aplaca (President & CEO (as of 12/24))
Highest reported compensation
- Pamela Smolen (Chair-Elect, Interim President/CEO): $44,410 total reported compensation
- Jed Aplaca (President & CEO (as of 12/24)): $16,500 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To advance the conservation of birds and their habitats in the Greater Houston Gulf Coast region by acquiring and maintaining critical habitat as bird sanctuaries, providing education programs and nature experiences, and advocating policy and management actions.
What it reported doing in 2024
LAND & HABITAT CONSERVATION: Houston Audubon owns and manages 17 nature sanctuaries spanning Greater Houston and the Upper Texas Coast, totaling 4,112 acres of diverse habitat critical to 300+ migratory and resident bird species. The sanctuaries are managed with an emphasis on bird monitoring and protection, habitat restoration, and providing public access to nature. Staff, volunteers and contractors removed invasive plants from 16 acres of Houston Audubon's coastal properties this year, and 300+ plants propagated at the Entergy Coastal Natives Nursery in High Island were used in coastal restoration efforts. Staff and volunteers conducted over 80 bird surveys that contributed valuable data both for direct management efforts and for larger data sets used by federal, state and other regional professionals.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 87% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 46
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 87
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 31%; rating input score 31
- Program expense ratio: 66.4%; rating input score 66
- Fundraising efficiency: $19.26 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- 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: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 58.5%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.2; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 31% of revenue deployed · 66.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $44K · 16 people listed
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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 31/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.