Napa Communities Firewise Foundation
Legal name: The Napa Communities Firewise Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 260147748
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018
- Location
- Napa, CA, US
- Phone
- (707) 335-0218
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Safety Education
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $11,826,839
- Expenses
- $9,637,482
- Assets
- $5,511,299
- Liabilities
- $2,501,973
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
23 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JOE NORDLINGER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
- GRETCHEN HAYES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (THROUGH 4/2024))
Highest reported compensation
- MICHAEL WILSON (SR. DIR. OF VEGETATION OPERATIONS): $190,149 total reported compensation
- JOE NORDLINGER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $160,131 total reported compensation
- SHARON GARDNER (WILDFIRE COORDINATOR): $155,504 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 protect communities, support ecological health, and contribute to meaningful, year-round wildfire-preparedness work across Napa County.
What it reported doing in 2024
The primary program of the foundation during 2024 has been the community wildfire protection plan ("cwpp"). The cwpp is napa county's first-ever wildfire protection plan that helps agencies, fire safe councils, communities, and local homeowners define, plan, and prioritize actions to limit damage from the inevitability of wildland fire. The projects are prioritized based on evacuation corridors for ingress and egress, community fuel breaks, critical infrastructure, and drinking water protection. Through this process, the plan: (i) identifies areas of high hazard in which topography, fuel, and weather create the potential for extreme fire behavior regardless of socio-political boundaries; (ii) identifies where there is interest, willingness to participate, and resources for preparedness and mitigation activities; (iii) addresses structure ignitability; (iv) protects at-risk communities and essential infrastructure; (v) prioritizes fuel reduction and recommends types and methods of treatment; and (vi) contributes to effective strategies for community outreach and education.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 82% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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
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: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 49
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 67.9%; rating input score 68
- Program expense ratio: 83.2%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $111.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- 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; 66th 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: 18.5%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.57; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.45; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 11.7%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 34.6% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 35.2% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 32.1% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 67.9% of revenue deployed · 83.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $190K · 23 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.5M reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.