Western States Trail Endowment Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
680470208
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2010
Location
Auburn, CA, USA
Phone
5304772005
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Private Independent Foundations

Reported finances

Revenue
$81,340
Expenses
$91,902
Assets
$895,870
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jerry Wittenauer (President)
  • Kathie Perry (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Tony Benedetti (Director)
  • Mike Pickett (Treasurer)
  • Jerry Wittenauer (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. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The organization was created as a supporting organization for the Western States Trail Foundation. Its main purpose is to manage the endowment fund for use in the charitable purposes of the Western States Trail, such as preservation and maintenance of the historic trail.

What it reported doing in 2025

Trail Improvement Program: This additional program is for the preservation and improvement of land surrounding the Western States Trail recreation area. A $50,000 restricted donation for the care and upkeep of the Robie Equestrian Park was received this year towards this mission. Funds of $78,814 were distributed to the supported organization towards expansion of the Trail.Development of a memorial structure at the Auburn Staging area is still in process.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 71% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Affiliate network. The nonprofit sent 90% of its reported program spending through affiliated organizations.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 95.4%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.75; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.2% per year; rating input score 0; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 95.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $88K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 14 of 14 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 39/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.