Skip to the page content
Your donations
Passes our checks

Tahoe Institute for Natural Science

EIN 27-2379984 · Incline Vlg, NV

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood86 out of 100GovernanceStrong91 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

To advance the natural history, conservation and ecosystem knowledge of the Tahoe region through science, education and outreach.

Income
$356,722
Spending
$371,776
Spent on programs
87%
Reserves
8.1 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 54%
Employees
4
Volunteers
316
Highest pay
$78,191, executive dir.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Good: 86 out of 100. Higher than 65% of charities in its peer group (environment, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    28 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 8.1 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 5% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    8 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 4% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 18% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    87% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 7 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 91 out of 100. Higher than 71% of charities in its peer group (environment, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    8 of 9 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    6 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (3)
  1. $143,256 spent. EDUCATION: In 2024, we had a total of 5759 student contacts from over 22 different schools and homeschool groups. We provided in-school and field trip programs covering topics from insects, bats, birds, frogs, mammals, and geology. We presented 252 field trip programs, and 69 in-school programs, and gave 53 TINS nature day camps and camps/outings for other organizations (e.g. Courage Project, Boys and Girls Club of South Lake Tahoe). We hosted 727 children across nature camps.
  2. $120,775 spent. RRESEARCH:TINS continued with our usual suite of Citizen Science coordination, including the Lake Tahoe Mid-winter Bald Eagle Survey, South Lake Tahoe Christmas Bird Count, Mid-winter Raptor Surveys in both Sierra and Carson valleys, North American Butterfly Association Butterfly Counts, and the annual Odonates Mini-blitz. We had 228 volunteers participate in these Citizen Science programs. We continued to participate in joint monitoring efforts of Peregrine Falcon nesting sites around the Tahoe/Truckee region. We continued snowshoe hare monitoring in California State Parks around the Lake Tahoe region, assisted NDOT with surveys for Federally Endangered Carson Wandering Skipper (Pseudocopaeodes eunus obscurus), and collaborated with USFS Region 5 scientists on the Tahoe Environmental Observation Network (TEON) project.
  3. $58,680 spent. OUTREACH:In 2024, we engaged in a diversity of Outreach events and festivals, with much of our Outreach programming centered around our 4th triennial Tahoe Big Year birding event. We hosted 56 outings with 968 participants, and hosted 20 talks, with at least 745 participants. We took a more active role in promoting and coordinating the Sagehen Bio-blitz with 6 guides and 26 participants. We also attended several Earth Day festivals, the Mono Basin Bird Chautaqua, and the Truckee River Day festival, as well as hosting our own Lake Tahoe Bird Festival and Native Species Day, resulting in solid education engagement with approximately 1440 people.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since December 2010.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.