Willow Waterhole Greenspace Conservancy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
760685448
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2013, Form 990-N 2007
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Phone
2819901459
Rating
93
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Water Resource, Wetlands Conservation and Management

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,608,024
Expenses
$4,737,710
Assets
$3,610,179
Liabilities
$134,523

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Bill Burhans (President)
  • Bill King (Vice President)
  • Katherine Newton (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Katherine Newton (Executive Director): $42,692 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Willow Waterhole Greenspace Conservancy Inc. (WWGC) is a Houston-based nonprofit responsible for the stewardship and long-term care of 291 acres of restored prairie, wetlands, and parkland within the Willow Waterhole Greenway. (Continued on Schedule O)The Greenway serves as both a critical component of regional flood mitigation infrastructure and a deeply used public green space supporting recreation, education, and community life.

What it reported doing in 2024

Capital Improvements: Multiple accessibility infrastructure projects were completed in 2024. These include construction of eight miles of ADA all-weather trails, four new parking areas, five safe street crossings, and fifty wayfinding signs. Over 1000 trees and fifty new benches/tables along trails were installed. Capital projects reported as in progress in 2023 were completed in 2024. Slated for completion in 2025-2026 is the environmentally sensitive development of the fifteen-acre Native Prairie Preserve with a boardwalk and educational signage. These infrastructure improvements restore and sustain the ecological health of the environment while providing public access to a much-needed natural setting in an urban/industrial area.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 62% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 97
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.7%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $42.93 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 8 of 8 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: 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: -194.6%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.76; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.9%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 45.3% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.3% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $43K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.