The Ojai Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
510151116
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022
Location
Ojai, CA, USA
Phone
8056468343
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,235,090
Expenses
$401,333
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT ADLER PECKERAR (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT ADLER PECKERAR (CEO): $11,536 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The organization sponsors various retreats and workshops providing an educational environment and community for its participants.

What it reported doing in 2022

Land-based programs - the practice of council is a cornerstone of tof programming. Council creates a place for deep listening and communication that lends itself to resolving conflicts and discovering the deeper, often unexpressed needs of individuals and organizations. Council provides a comprehensive means for co-visioning and making decisions in a group context. Land stewardship programs provide the opportunity for meaningful connection with place in a community context.our youth rites of passage programs support youth to mark times of significance while providing a rich background that helps to frame these experiences. Furthermore, these experiences are grounded within group interaction and relationship, which encourages youth to connect with each other while exploring the depths of their personal selves. For one to five day in-person and online retreats, youth participate in council, art, personal introspection, and land stewardship projects. By combining these activities in a unique way, the foundation provides a space in which students explore the significant transitions of their lives, clarify personal values, explore issues of diversity, and deepen their relationship to nature, themselves, and each other.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 82% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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

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: 42
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 26.1%; rating input score 26
  • Program expense ratio: 80.1%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 67.5%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -8.9% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.9% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.3% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 26.1% of revenue deployed · 80.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $322K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $12K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2022
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 26/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization is not authorized to operate as a charity in California.