Founded in 2001, Spark Northwest accelerates the just transition to clean energy in the Pacific Northwest. Spark Northwest uses two primary strategies: (1) on-the-ground project consulting, focusing on communities with limited financial resources and (2) systemic advocacy to create opportunities and overcome obstacles to equitable deployment of clean energy.Project Design and Management: Spark Northwest lends technical expertise to people and groups to pursue renewable energy and energy efficiency options to power their homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods. This technical support includes education, outreach, planning, project design, resource evaluation, economic modeling, permitting assistance and contractor selection. Projects are designed to prioritize community involvement and accountability. Systemic Advocacy: Spark Northwest advocates for strong policies to reduce the barriers to clean energy implementation and encourage development at the local level. Spark Northwest supports p

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
68¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$173K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $150K a year · 12% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
68%
of spending
Fine: 68% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$173K
to officers and key staff · 21% of spending
Worth a look: pay to officers and key staff is 21% of spending; over 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
10 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 9.5 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
12
named funders · $479K
Looks good: 12 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$89K
12% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 12% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
10
of 10 voting members
Looks good: 10 of 10 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$966K
+12% vs prior year
Spent
$809K
To programs
68%
Net assets
$656K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$966K
FY2021▲ +12%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$859K
FY2021$966K
FY2022$1.0M
FY2023$1.6M
FY2024$1.6M
FY2025$1.6M
Expenses
$809K
FY2021▲ +5%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$772K
FY2021$809K
FY2022$941K
FY2023$1.2M
FY2024$1.3M
FY2025$1.7M
Net assets
$656K
FY2021▲ +32%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$499K
FY2021$656K
FY2022$742K
FY2023$1.1M
FY2024$1.4M
FY2025$1.3M

From the FY2021 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jun 2002.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

68 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 68% · $553K Management & general 22% · $179K Fundraising 10% · $77K

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

12 people listed on the 990; $173K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Dir.
$101,016Pt VII · Sec A
Finance Mgr.
$72,294Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Andrea Axel’s $126K as Executive Dir. is at the 49th 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Andrea Axel$126,326$129,675$122,837$107,251$101,016$99,180
Veena Prasad$114,085—————
Gwen Heisterkamp$39,186$91,748$85,935$76,881$72,294$76,478
Line Nya Ngatchou$68,921—————

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.

See Spark Northwest executive salaries →

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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

Develops clean energy projects and advocates for policies to speed local renewable energy adoption.

Questions for Spark Northwest

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $553K · in their own filed words · FY2021
01

Spark Northwest partnered with tribes, people in rural areas and nonprofit groups to install 1.2 megawatts of renewable energy in 2021, generating over $111,000 in energy bill savings annually.

$553Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
See all 12 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$966K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$696K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$269K
Investment incomeLn 3$740
Money outPt IX
$809K
Ln 25
Programscol B$553K
Managementcol C$179K
Fundraisingcol D$77K
Owns and owesPt X
$656K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$642K
Total assetsLn 16$745K
LiabilitiesLn 26$89K
PeoplePt VI, VII
12
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a10
IndependentVI 1b10
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$696K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$269K
Investment incomeLn 3$740
Other incomeLn 4–11$369
Gains on assetsLn 7$0
Total revenueLn 12$966K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$450K
SavingsLn 2$192K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$642K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$142
Other assetsLn 15$0
Total assetsLn 16$745K
LiabilitiesLn 26$89K
Net assetsLn 32$656K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 515
VolunteersI 624
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$564K$642K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$653$142
Total assetsLn 16$705K$745K
LiabilitiesLn 26$206K$89K
Net assetsLn 32$499K$656K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$192K$28K$145K$19K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$317K$281K$2K$34K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$40K$34K$5K
Payroll taxesLn 10$36K$22K$10K$4K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$0
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$144K$135K$5K$4K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$3K$2K$332
Office expensesLn 13$0
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$43K$28K$11K$5K
TravelLn 17$3K$3K$228$89
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$801$801
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$511$325$130$56
InsuranceLn 23$6K$5K$835$358
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$21K$12K$6K$4K
All other expensesLn 24e$3K$1K$440$1K
Total functional expensesLn 25$809K$553K$179K$77K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $1.6M$1.7M−$74K$1.3M 990 PDF
FY2024 $1.6M$1.3M$279K$1.4M 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.6M$1.2M$362K$1.1M 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.0M$941K$86K$742K 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $966K$809K$157K$656K 990 PDF
FY2020 $859K$772K$87K$499K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $966,398 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $561,529$696,479
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $297,008$268,810
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $259$740
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $500$369
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $859,296$966,398
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $553,700$584,746
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $218,655$224,300
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $772,355$809,046
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $86,941$157,352
Part VI · Governance 10 of 10 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body10
VI-1b Independent voting members10
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $966,398 across 10 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$696,479
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$696,479
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $268,810$268,810
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $740$740
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assets$0
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $369$369
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $269,179 · Excluded from tax $740$966,398
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $809,046 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $27,957 · Management $144,659 · Fundraising $19,269$191,885
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $281,010 · Management $1,776 · Fundraising $34,303$317,089
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $34,477 · Fundraising $5,458$39,935
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $22,219 · Management $9,676 · Fundraising $3,942$35,837
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting fees$0
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $135,254 · Management $4,895 · Fundraising $3,616$143,765
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $2,387 · Fundraising $332$2,719
IX-13 Office expenses$0
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $27,511 · Management $10,930 · Fundraising $4,707$43,148
IX-17 TravelPrograms $3,124 · Management $228 · Fundraising $89$3,441
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $801$801
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $325 · Management $130 · Fundraising $56$511
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $4,655 · Management $835 · Fundraising $358$5,848
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $11,742 · Management $5,565 · Fundraising $3,544$20,851
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $1,298 · Management $440 · Fundraising $1,478$3,216
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $552,760 · Management $179,134 · Fundraising $77,152$809,046
Part X · Balance sheet $744,607 assets, 20 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $396,676$449,968
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $167,042$192,497
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$0
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $128,166$88,765
X-8 Inventories for sale or use$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $12,460$13,235
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $653$142
X-11 Publicly traded securities$0
X-12 Other securities$0
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assets$0
X-15 Other assets$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $704,997$744,607
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $84,851$81,310
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $121,467$7,266
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $206,318$88,576
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $352,691$601,911
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $145,988$54,120
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $498,679$656,031
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $704,997$744,607
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $656,031 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$966,398
XI-2 Total expenses$809,046
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$157,352
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$498,679
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$656,031

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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