TreeFolks Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 742569827
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Del Valle, TX, USA
- Phone
- 5124435323
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,465,254
- Expenses
- $2,100,076
- Assets
- $781,225
- Liabilities
- $118,875
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
21 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Katharine Biesner (Vice President)
- Richard Craig (Vice President)
- Sarah Garcia Niederpruem (President)
- Kira Dell (Vice President)
People named in this filing
- Kimberly White Erlinger (Director)
- Raymond Castillo (Director)
- Jason Radcliff (Director)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Empowering central Texans to build stronger communities through planting and caring for trees.
What it reported doing in 2024
Communitrees. The Community Tree Planting Program planted 12,022 trees across 23 sites in Austin, prioritizing historically underserved neighbor hoods to support equitable access to urban canopy. Through this program, TreeFolks also organized six tree care activities at community planting sites, which included hands-on education and training. A record 2,833 volunteers contributed approximately 10,000 hours of service across TreeFolks programs, strengthening community connection while expanding urban canopy, reducing heat island impacts, and improving overall environmental resilience - all in support of TreeFolks mission to empower Central Texans to build stronger communities through planting and caring for trees.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 73
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 54
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 73.9%; rating input score 74
- Program expense ratio: 85.9%; rating input score 86
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd 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: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: 14.8%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 73.9% of revenue deployed · 85.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 21 people listed
- Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.