Urban Association of Forestry and Fire Professionals Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
830806426
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Azusa, CA, USA
Phone
6266009505
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,213,199
Expenses
$3,387,560
Assets
$2,054,537
Liabilities
$1,237,201

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROYAL RAMEY (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROYAL RAMEY (CEO): $235,591 total reported compensation
  • BRANDON SMITH (SENIOR ADVIS): $162,788 total reported compensation
  • SEAN SUNAHARA (DIRECTOR OF): $151,434 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to increase wildfire personnel from non-traditional and underrepresented communities, providing them the training, skills, resources, and experiences needed to secure gainful employment.

What it reported doing in 2024

In fye 06/30/2025 ("fiscal year"), the urban association of forestry and fire professionals (also known as the forestry and fire recruitment program "ffrp") conducted in-reach across California to recruit & prepare incarcerated firefighters in California's conservation camps ("fire camps") to use their skills professionally upon release. Ffrp provides information and career transition support to incarcerated firefighters, as well as other justice-impacted or marginalized individuals to help them access careers in forestry and firefighting. In the fiscal year, ffrp ran two primary programs: 1)ffrps 8-week career training program, offered in four separate cohorts with paid on-the-job training, wildfire & public safety certificates, and comprehensive case management services. 2) ffrp's fee for service program provides on-the- job training for participants in completing wildfire prevention and fire reduction services to help communities become wildfire resilient. 88 people participated in these programs, with 78 graduates. As a result, several dozen individuals were placed in full-time fireand forestry careers during the course of the year. In addition to its primary programs, ffrp served as the inaugural training partner for the la county training center (lactc) from february-november 2024, assisting with recruitment, vetting, and training of 28 participants in lactc, with 10 successful graduates. All graduates of the program completed the necessary training for employment with any wildland agency in the us, with six of whom completing the requirements for structural firefighting with municipal fire departments. Ffrp also launched its first-ever high school program with the san bernardino county superintendent of schools. The 2-week program provided an introduction to wildland firefighting and forestry careers & training for 15 juniors and seniors from local high schools.

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

SUPPORTED - 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: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.7%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 84.1%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 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: 19.6%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.61; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.6; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.2%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 32.7% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 33.9% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 35.5% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.7% of revenue deployed · 84.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $236K · 12 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.