Tubac Nature Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 843422784
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2024
- Location
- Tubac, AZ, USA
- Phone
- 4068126654
- Rating
- 58
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $41,667
- Expenses
- $15,556
- Assets
- $148,131
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Michael Dunn (President)
- Seth Ausubel (Vice President)
People named in this filing
- Michael Dunn (President)
- Wayne Iwen (Treasurer)
- Seth Ausubel (Vice President)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide education, appreciation and conservation of the natural environment with a focus on the Upper Santa Cruz River Valley of Arizona.
What it reported doing in 2025
1. Santa Cruz River Habitat Conservation: In keeping with the 2023 Conceptual Master Plan for the Tubac Nature Preserve, conducted projects to protect and restore critical river habitats in the Santa Cruz River Floodplain in Tubac. These efforts are benefitting a minimum of 1500 people living in Tubac, plus others of unknown numbers visiting. The efforts will preserve habitats for birds and wildlife including several threatened species. a. Completed Wetland Restoration Plan under grant with Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area. b. Conducted four volunteer work events to restore habitats by removing invasive grasses in the river floodplain. Involved approximately 50 volunteers. c. Signed Memorandum of Understanding with landowner for wetland restoration including hydrological monitoring and engineering design of wetland restoration in the Tubac Borrow Pit, and to continue invasive plant control. d. Signed contract with Tucson Bird Alliance to conduct monitoring, and installed water flow meter and groundwater monitoring well. e. Applied for Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management Invasive Plant Grant to continue invasive plant control efforts.
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.
The verdict
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 43
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Sustainability: 78
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 27.4%; rating input score 27
- Program expense ratio: 69.4%; rating input score 69
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 62.7%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.52; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 27.4% of revenue deployed · 69.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments · $11K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 6 of 6 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- 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: Mission deployment rate scored 27/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.