Vida Verde Nature Education

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364471996
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
San Gregorio, CA, USA
Phone
6507479288
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,324,071
Expenses
$2,336,331
Assets
$7,774,308
Liabilities
$45,207

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

People named in this filing

  • NELLY ALCANTAR (SECRETARY)
  • MELISSA FOWLKS (BOARD MEMBER)
  • AVANI PATEL (BOARD CHAIR)

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 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Vida verde's exempt purpose and mission is to promote educational equity by providing free, overnight environmental learning experiences for students who don't otherwise get the opportunity.

What it reported doing in 2023

Vida verde nature education is the only 100% scholarship-based environmental education program for students from historically marginalized populations in the san francisco bay area. 99% of the students we work with are youth of color, over 85% qualify for free/reduced-price lunch, and none would otherwise have the opportunity to participate in a similar program due to cost. During our 2023-2024 fiscal year, vida verde hosted 30 classes of 4th-6th grade students for our three-day, two-night core program, in addition to 50 teens who participated in the week-long camping trips of our summer leadership project. These programs are specifically designed to positively and powerfully impact students and their connection to the outdoors, academics, and social-emotional learning. Each trip during the school year is an activity-packed experience that takes place at our 100-acre camp and farm, and at nearby state parks and beaches along the san mateo county coastline.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 42
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 47.5%; rating input score 47
  • Program expense ratio: 45.8%; rating input score 46
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 80%; rating input score 80; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.5%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.33; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 47.5% of revenue deployed · 45.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2023
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 46/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.