Dolores River Boating Advocates
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Dolores River Boating Advocates protects and enriches the recreational and ecological values of the Dolores River through advocacy, stewardship and education.
- Income
- $434,872
- Spending
- $375,556
- Spent on programs
- 82%
- Reserves
- 7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 90%
- Employees
- 5
- Volunteers
- 85
- Highest pay
- $90,444, executive director
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: 88 out of 100. Higher than 67% of charities in its peer group (environment, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 7.0 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 14% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 3% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1582% 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 258 of 8 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports 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 (1)
- $306,251 spent. General: Dolores River Boating Advocates (DRBA) envisions permanent protections and conservation for the Dolores River and surrounding landscape that support recreation, equitable access, healthy flows, and resilient habitat for the benefit of the diverse human and ecological communities that depend on and value the Dolores now and into the future. DRBA is a small but mighty community-based organization with great big passion for the Dolores River and the canyon country that surrounds it. DRBA has a unique niche as a local conservation and whitewater boating advocacy group - we are the only group solely focused on the Dolores River landscape, and we are dedicated to working collaboratively toward lasting solutions. We help bring people together around complicated issues facing the Dolores River and we serve as a voice for the river. We educate the public and provide valuable recreational information to those rafting the Dolores River. Advocacy: Our advocacy work is focused on securing long-term protection for the Dolores River Canyon Country below McPhee Reservoir, and guarding against potential damaging development proposals related to the river and adjacent public lands. -For many years we have worked with a myriad of local stakeholders on a National Conservation Area proposal for the southern portion of the Dolores River landscape and hoped that the bill would pass in 2024. We advocated for the bill alongside the Counties, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, ranchers, water managers, recreationists, other conservation organizations, businesses, and other stakeholders. This bi-partisan legislation that would protect a portion of the lower Dolores River in Montezuma, Dolores, and San Miguel Counties, including 76 river miles and almost 70,000 acres, came very close to passing at the end of 2024, but unfortunately did not. We expect this bill to be reintroduced early in the next Congress in 2025. --Through our work with the Dolores River Coalition (which is made up of local, regional, and national conservation and recreation organizations that have an interest in protecting the Dolores River), in 2024 we were also heavily engaged in discussions about permanent protections for the Dolores River landscape in Mesa and Montrose Counties to the north of the existing NCA legislation. The monument proposal developed the year before was met with both support and concern. After both Colorado Senators visited the landscape and met with community members, the discussion pivoted to the consideration of an NCA in the north as well. --We served as the co-chair of the Native Fish Monitoring and Recommendation Team in 2024, which is a collaborative science-based group that works to benefit native fish and the river environment downstream of McPhee Reservoir. --We engaged Tribal perspectives, voices, and leadership in our advocacy work and protection campaigns. --In 2024, DRBA kicked off scoping for an ethnography project that works with a local anthropologist and regional Tribes/Pueblos/Nations with a connection to the Dolores River. The larger project funding was solidified, and initial planning and field visits occurred. The goal of this project is to integrate Tribal knowledge into future management of the Dolores River corridor. --DRBA consistently monitors activities to the Bureau of Land Management lands in the Dolores River Basin. In 2024, DRBA signed onto a letter with other organizations supporting the Resource Management Plan for the Uncompahgre Field Office and wrote a supportive letter to the Bureau of Land Management Tres Rios Field Office on their rule changes regarding recreation on the Dolores River. Stewardship and Partnerships: DRBA partners with both the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the US Forest Service on various on the ground projects that not only have positive effects for the river and recreational boating access but also connect volunteers to the landscape in meaningful ways. In 2024 we had the following accomplishments: --Coordinated and conducted the annual lower Dolores campsite improvement trip in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to maintain river camp visibility, quality, and safety along the river between the confluence with the San Miguel River and the town of Gateway. --Continued supporting the USFS by providing a bathroom for the 5-month high use period at a popular river take-out adjacent to the town of Dolores. --Continued to financially support the maintenance of a USGS river gauge at Slick Rock which is important for both recreational and ecological purposes. --Held a stewardship event at the Big Gypsum boat launch that engaged 12 people and included clearing willows from the boat ramp and cleaning up the recreation site.--Sat on the Advisory Committee for the regional Montelores Coalition in the recreational boating seat. The Montelores Coalition is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife sponsored process that looks to support Colorado Communities as they plan for future outdoor tourism that supports conservation. Youth Education Programming: We offer three types of programs under the umbrella of what we call the DRBA River School including youth and family river trips, in-class instruction paired with a fieldtrip, and two sessions of an immersive three-day summer camp. We are part of the Montezuma Inspire Coalition which has the overall goal of addressing barriers to get all youth in our communities in the outdoors. --All of these programs are free to all youth/schools/teachers, and we work hard to engage a diversity of youth and families with the river both in the classroom and in the outdoors. --This was the first year we were able to offer two sessions of summer camp and serve over twice as many youths in the process. We also continued our river trip and Paddle Day programs with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe to provided fun paddle experiences in partnership with the Tribes summer youth program. --These programs are impacting youth in local communities in
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since January 2014.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
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.