Rio Grande Return EIN 20-8434340 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Rio Grande Return FY2021 filing

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Restores the Rio Grande watershed through direct action and by funding conservation groups. For fiscal year 2021 it reported $1.1M in revenue, $774K in expenses, and $468K in net assets.Pt I

Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Environment
Location
Lamy, NM
Website
riograndereturn.com
Filings
5 on file (2020–2021)
Revenue
$1.1MFY2021
Expenses
$774K
Net assets
$468K
People
5
Filings
5
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  20-8434340 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Lamy, NM
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →
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Figures match the IRS filing checked 9/4/26 · see original: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Restores the Rio Grande watershed through direct action and by funding conservation groups.
Leadership
Todd Lopez · Executive Director · $79K
Money in and out
$1.1M revenue, $774K expenses
Bottom line
85% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2021
Total revenue
$1.1M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$774K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$468K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $360K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.08 Fundraising $0.08
Program efficiency
85%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
6.0mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+32%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Revenue
$1.1M
FY2021▲ +103%
Expenses
$774K
FY2021▲ +65%
Total assets
$478K
FY2021▲ +196%
Total liabilities
$10K
FY2021▼ -81%
Total revenue
$1.1M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$774K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$468K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$360K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$478K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B85%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 35
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 45

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CRio Grande Return
EINHdr · item D20-8434340
Principal addressHdr · item CLamy, NM
WebsiteHdr · item Jriograndereturn.com
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MNM
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFEnvironment (C30)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMay 2007

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a5
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b5
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aNo
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$79,423Pt VII · Sec A
President
$26,240Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Todd Lopez’s $165K as Executive Director is at the 72nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 1845 $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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Todd Lopez$165,225$160,631$123,768$79,423$53,205
Alan Hamilton$26,240$50,586

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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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $658K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2021.
01

Since january of 2020, RGR has planted 67,500 willow, 4,900 cottonwood and gooddings willow, 350 native riparian container plants and 8,850 saltgrass plugs; has cleared invasive trees from over 400 acres of wetlands; has constructed 7 exclosures to protect riparian plantings from cattle and elk browse on over 20 acres; has erected 3…

$658Kprogram expense

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$1.1M · 99%
Other revenue$9K · 1%
Contributions & grants99%$1.1M
Other revenue1%$9K
Program service revenue$1K
Investment income$85
— government grantsLn 1e$744K
Total revenueLn 12$1.1M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.08 Fundraising $0.08
Program services85%$658K
Management & general8%$58K
Fundraising8%$58K
Total functional expensesLn 25$774K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$386K
Total assetsLn 16$478K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$10K
Total net assetsLn 32$468K
Months of cash on handcomputed6.0

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $386K · Operating expenses/yr $774K
6.0 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $658K · Total expenses $774K
85%
Management & General
Management & general $58K · Total expenses $774K
8%
Fundraising
Fundraising $58K · Total expenses $774K
8%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $48K · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $283K
$0.17 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $1.1M · Total revenue $1.1M
99%
Government reliance
Government grants $744K · Total revenue $1.1M
66%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $1K · Total revenue $1.1M
0.1%
Investment reliance
Investment income $85 · Total revenue $1.1M
<0.01%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $1K · Total expenses $774K
0.2%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $1.1M · Prior year $558K
+103%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $468K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $1.1M · Expenses $774K
+32%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $478K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $468K · Total assets $478K
98%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $478K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Todd Lopez · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $79K · Total expenses $774K
10%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $532K · Total expenses $774K
69%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 85%
Overhead ratio 8%
Fundraising cost ratio 5%
Revenue growth 103%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
Water FoundationFY2024$100K
S B FoundationFY2024$40K
Total grants receivedfrom 7 funders$459K
See all 7 funders →

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$2.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$1.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$1.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$1.1M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$558K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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