Sierra Commons is a community improvement nonprofit based in Nevada City, CA, formed in 2011.
For fiscal year 2025 it reported $248K in revenue, $201K in expenses, and $43K in net assets.Pt I
Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$248K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$201K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$43K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $48K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
15%
85%
Program services $0.15 Management & general $0.85
Program efficiency
15%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
2.7mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +59% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+19%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +495% vs prior filing year
Summary of the Filing
Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$248K
FY2025▲ +101%
$248K$124K$0
FY2020FY2025
Total revenue
$248K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$201K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$43K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$48K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$67K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B15%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 38
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 48
Mission & Programs · Part III
Where the work happens
3 program services account for $27K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2025.
01
The food entrepreneurship program strengthens the local food economy by providing targeted education and advising to food business owners at various stages of development. In 2025, the program served 19 food entrepreneurs across 2 food accelerator tracks, with support from california jobs first enabling differentiated instruction for…
$9Kprogram expense
02
The forest entrepreneurship program provided education and training to businesses operating at the intersection of forest health, wildfire resilience, and rural economic development. In 2025, the program trained 95 forest entrepreneurs across 7 bootcamps in nevada city, auburn, south lake tahoe, arcata, sonora, and santa cruz, extending…
$9Kprogram expense
03
Sierra commons launched a learning management system, the sierra commons learning hub, to expand access to educational content and reduce geographic barriers for rural entrepreneurs. The learning hub enabled students and program participants to access course materials, resources, and community supports across programs and regions outside…
Robert Trent’s $56K as Executive Director
is at the 34th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1711 $100K–1M community development 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
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.
Individual Jim Williams · Reported title TREASURER · Highest reported compensation $0 · Total expenses $201K
0%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $145K · Total expenses $201K
72%
Peer comparison
Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.
Metric
This org
Peer median
Percentile
Program ratio
15%
—
—
Overhead ratio
85%
—
—
Revenue growth
101%
—
—
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.
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Sources
Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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