Sierra Streams Institute
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
To promote community stewardship and advance scientific knowledge of watersheds through reserarch, monitoring and education for the benefit of the Sierra Nevada region and beyond.
- Income
- $2.2 million
- Spending
- $2.3 million
- Spent on programs
- 68%
- Reserves
- 2.6 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 84%
- Employees
- 22
- Highest pay
- $91,530, executive dir.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 53 out of 100. Higher than 16% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 2.6 months of spending.
Debt
5 of 20It owes 57% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 4% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 3% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1568% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 4 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Fair: 65 out of 100. Higher than 10% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2510 of 10 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no 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
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
Independent check of accounts
0 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, 2025, 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)
- $1.2 million spent. Restoration: Watersheds throughout the Sierra Nevada have suffered impacts to their health, water quality and ecological function as a result of gold mining, residential development, road building, agriculture, diversions, and other activities. Our restoration programs are aimed at correcting these problems, with efforts that include the following: salmon habitat restoration, invasive non-native species removal, restoration of native vegetation, geomorphological restoration, forest health and prescribed fire, and integration of traditional native practices. Our work is focused in the Sierra Nevada, with the goal of increasing community member and multi-stakeholder participation in the restoration process. We have undertaken extensive restoration efforts in our home watershed of Deer Creek in the past, and now work with partners in the Bear River watershed on projects ranging from post-dam removal salmon passage and habitat restoration through endangered or protected plant species protection at current conservation easements throughout the Sierra. In general, our approaches involve what is known as "process based restoration", focusing on restoring the processes that let nature manage itself (such as flooding and fire) as opposed to trying to "restore" arbitrary conditions such as certain plants or aesthetics.
- $216,442 spent. Monitoring and Research: Sierra Streams Institute works with community members to monitor the health of multiple watersheds throughout the Northern Sierra Nevada mountains. These watersheds include Deer Creek, our home watershed, as well as the Bear River, Truckee River, American River, and portions of the Yuba River. This year we expanded into monitoring stream health across even more watersheds, including the Pit, McCloud, Feather, Mokelumne, and Stanislaus rivers. Collecting these data regularly over time allows us to see changes, evaluate restoration efforts, and locate sources of potential problems. Our quarterly baseline monitoring collects data on water temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, and turbidity; these vital signs tell us how the creek is doing and what kinds of life can inhabit its waters. We also check nutrient and bacteria levels, which are important for algae growth and safe swimming. Finally, we use benthic macroinvertebrates (BMI), stream-dwelling insect larvae, as bioindicators of stream health throughout all of the watersheds we monitor, connecting BMI communities to water quality and climate change impacts. Sierra Streams Institute's research programs include studies on fire ecology, climate change impacts, and water quality and biological responses in streams. Our laboratory services include nutrient analysis, bacteria analysis and benthic macroinvertebrate sampling and identification. We are the only non-profit water quality laboratory in the region with the capacity to do the suite of analyses we provide, serving as a community partner and resource. Our research activities have also included prior studies on mine waste impacts on human health, educational outcomes of non-traditional science training, and forest health.
- $103,677 spent. Science Education: The Sierra Streams Education Program offers a variety of science instruction options for the youth of Nevada County and beyond. Rooted in the Yuba and Bear watersheds of Nevada County, our program offers an unparalleled educational experience where students of all ages learn core watershed science principles while exploring the rugged beauty of our landscape and waterways. Our programming is also focused on generating easy-to-use resources for community educators, including curriculum, tools and lesson plans, and databases of public environmental education learning sites.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, 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 2025.
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 December 1999.
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.