Transition Zone Horticultural Inst

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942788812
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Flagstaff, AZ, USA
Phone
9287741442
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Botanical, Horticultural, and Landscape Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$937,704
Expenses
$732,487
Assets
$2,846,415
Liabilities
$171,326

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Nathaniel O'Meara (Executive Director)
  • Dennis Kruse (President)
  • Lexi Fojtik (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Nathaniel O'Meara (Executive Director): $83,438 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 increase the appreciation, understanding, and conservation of plants and plant communities native to the Colorado Plateau.

What it reported doing in 2024

Public Botanical Gardens - Our primary goal is the preservation and exhibit of live plants of the Colorado Plateau and adaptive species so that visitors whoexperience our gardensor attend our community events, gain an understanding of horticulture and conservation principles and techniques as well as exposure to native plants, wildlife and ecology in an outdoor environment.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 50.3%; rating input score 50
  • Program expense ratio: 64.4%; rating input score 64
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.88 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th 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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: 21.9%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.89; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 50.3% of revenue deployed · 64.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $472K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $83K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 50/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.