Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Aug 2006.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
75 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
10 people listed on the 990; $92K paid to officers and key staff.
Lindsay Johnson’s $92K as Executive Director is at the 21st percentile of top reported officer pay among 1851 $1–10M environment nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 1 named individual · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lindsay Johnson | $91,500 | $84,325 | $79,200 | $78,535 | $74,069 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Empowers communities through environmental education and nature-based learning to protect the planet.
Questions for Explore Ecology
Your first name shows with your question. Explore Ecology answers here, for everyone.
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School Gardens
An additional 10,000 elementary age students were educated through explore ecology's school gardens program in 34 gardens countywide. Staff maintain gardens while working with schools and teachers to provide lessons in planting, cultivating, harvesting, composting, and nutrition.
Environmental Education
Over 800 environmental lessons were conducted by explore ecology staff for approximately 20,000 students throughout santa barbara county. Lessons focus on water quality, watershed stewardship and waste management - reduce, reuse, recycle and compost.
Ee Creative Reuse
Art from scrap: art from scrap creative reuse store receives donations from more than 200 businesses and individuals. Over 18 tons of materials were diverted from the landfill while empowering businesses to reduce and reuse their excess materials.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $146K | $354K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $76K | $62K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $350K | $893K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $200K | $493K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $150K | $400K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $100K | $30K | $50K | $20K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $934K | $761K | $105K | $68K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $107K | $54K | $38K | $14K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $84K | $67K | $10K | $7K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $54K | $54K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $193K | $188K | $5K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $12K | $12K | $867 | $40 |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $16K | $3K | $12K | $1K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $43K | $30K | $13K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $32K | $30K | $1K | $858 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $15K | $14K | $842 | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $17K | $17K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $130K | $103K | $24K | $3K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $5K | $1K | $4K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.7M | $1.3M | $319K | $114K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest Viewing | $2.0M | $1.7M | $250K | $400K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $1.5M | $1.6M | −$87K | $150K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $1.3M | $1.2M | $31K | $237K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $1.2M | $1.2M | $39K | $206K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $1.0M | $1.0M | −$27K | $167K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,993,161 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 9 of 9 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,993,161 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,743,457 across 14 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $892,617 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $400,055 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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