Oc Habitats
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
To provide conservation education and monitoring services for a variety of ecological habitats within Orange County California that may contain sensitive protected or listed plant or animal species.
- Income
- $177,171
- Spending
- $160,224
- Reserves
- 9.6 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 56%
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 67% of charities in its peer group (environment, under $250k).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 9.6 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 3% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 10% of income.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ 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)
- $74,971 spent. Education & Outreach - We expanded our educational programming in 2025 by serving over 5,094 individuals in 2025. We continued to partner with Girl Scouts of Orange County,OC Coastkeeper and title 1 schools in Capistrano Garden Grove Irvine Newport-Mesa Saddleback Valley and Santa Ana Unified School Districts. We expanded our hike programs overall with Santa Ana Wilderness Club and Cancer Kinship and continued our programs with Mission Viejo to serve over 400 individuals. We were asked by the City of Newport Beach to become a contracted educator and began this process at the end of 2025. Our hikes take us all over the county where we share knowledge of habitats species indigenous history and climate change issues and impacts with attendees. We participated in thirty-seven outreach events throughout the year including Earth Day events at local community colleges Anaheims OC Green Expo OCWDs Childrens Water Festival the Panhe Gathering and Mission Viejo Environmental Fair.
- $3,897 spent. Monitoring - We began a partnership with Xerces Society on Monarch Butterfly Overwintering Surveys in Fall of 2025. They had approached us to help and potentially take over as coordinator of Orange County in 2026. This is an exciting expansion of our work with specific species. We completed our 3rd cycle of Purple and Red Sea Urchin Population Densities surveys and prepared to renew our permit in collaboration with Get Inpsired Nancy Caruso. We did an Independence Day monitoring of the Tern Preserve to protect both CA least terns and Western snowy plovers Charadrius nivosus nivosus
- $30,150 spent. Restoration - Received two generous grants from Henry W. & Ellen R. Warne Family Foundation and Rose Foundation to help us fund 12 months worth of restoration work within Upper Newport Bay and Santiago Creek Santa Ana. We secured a new project through HBWC Tern Preserve Cohort to help restore the tern preserve that is the only breeding ground for our endangered CA Least Tern Sterna anitillarum browni. We worked tirelessly throughout the year to remove invasive species and debris planting native plants propogating seeds and buliding new habitat in all of our sites in Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy salt marsh Upper Newport Bay salt marsh and riparian Huntington Beach State Park coastal dunes and Santa Ana - Santiago Creek riparian. In all of these spaces we removed close to 25,000lbs of nonnatives and debris. We had the pleasure of working with volunteers from all over Orange County and surrounding areas LA Riverside San Bernardino and San Diego counties.
Source: Form 990EZ 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since September 2017.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 21, 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.