South Santiam Watershed Council
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
To enhance and protect the resources of the South Santiam River watershed for the social, environmental, and economic benefit of all who live, work, and visit.
- Income
- $739,600
- Spending
- $603,185
- Spent on programs
- 90%
- Reserves
- 5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 77%
- Employees
- 3
- Volunteers
- 35
- Highest pay
- $71,400, executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 57% of charities in its peer group (environment, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 5.0 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 3% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 18% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 122% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1590% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 3 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, 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 2512 of 13 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 June 30, 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 (2)
- $539,905 spent. We did not make significant changes to existing programming this year, retaining our four general program areas. In 2024, we nearly doubled the number of people we served through our two main Outdoor Education Programs. Between Salmon Watch and Outdoor School, we provided experiential training opportunities for more than 800 students grades 5-12 as well as their teachers and adult chaperones. We continue to work with neighboring watershed councils to leverage work at a regional scale as well as a local scale, participating in both the Mid-Valley River Connections (MVRC) Network and the Mid-Willamette Beaver Partnership. We began implementation of the $8.7 million NOAA grant that MVRC was awarded and began implementing three of the projects this year. See Schedule O for more details.
- Organizations Mission: The mission of the South Santiam Watershed Council is to enhance and protect the natural resources of the South Santiam River watershed for the social, environmental, and economic benefit of all those who live, work, and visit. First Program Accomplishment: During this fiscal year, the SSWC worked four general areas: Restoration (Riparian restoration, fuels reduction, and in-stream habitat enhancement) Education (Salmon Watch, Youth Snorkel, and Outdoor School) Monitoring (project effectiveness and water quality) Executive (Administration, organizational growth, and board development) The South Santiam Watershed Council turned 30 in 2024, and has spent those years working to build relationships, strengthen partnerships, and achieve landscape level ecologial planting trees, shrubs, and forbs, and providing essential preparation and maintenance to help ensure success at existing project sites. To date, SSWC has planted several hundred thousand native trees and shrubs in an ongoing effort to improve riparian conditions along multiple creeks. Sites that had been planted in previous years were maintained so as to enhance plant survivial thus ensuring long-term success at plating sites. This involved visiting over 25 properties mutiple times to treat invasive weeds that may have threatened previous plantings. New sites were prepared for future planting by removing noxious plants to create site conditions suitable to planting and generating lists of plant species that are wood placement that provides improved aquatic habitat for fish and wildlife species. This project was implemented as mitigation for impacts from natural gas infrastructure on the mainstem South Santiam, and a municipal Clean Water Act violation. It provides an an anchor for additional uplands and riparian work in the future. Community education and outreach will figure prominently in this work, with interpretive signs and opportunities for project tours. The two primary monitoring activities we conducted were photo point monitoring of existing projects and stream temperature monitoring at priority locations. Photo points are photographs taken at the same location over successive years. The photos, along with a in telling the story of the project. Stream temperature is a major driver of aquatic ecosystems and an indicator of watershed health. Restoration activities are often designed to improve system temperatures for cold water fishes. Monitoring water temperature allows the SSWC to measure the effectiveness of projects over a long time period. Previous funding allowed for seasonal monitoring. Due to successfully securing a multi-year grant to support water temperature monitoring, we are looking forward to another 4 years of monitoring and transitioning to annual (year-round) monitoring, which will capture more accurate and nuanced changes in stream temperature over time. Other Program Accomplishments: The SSWC continues to work with the US Forest Service, Sweet Home Ranger District, and local schools to bring watershed education programs to students in our service area. The programs include Outdoor School, Salmon Watch, Youth Snorkeling, and a paid internship program that provides graduating high schoolers with an opportunity to work with a variety of US Forest Service employees and learn about career options in natural resources. We are grateful for the ongoing support and engagement from state, federal, and local agencies and entities, organizations and individuals as we continue to refine educational opportunities for the communities we serve. Near the end of the fiscal year, the SSWC relocated its offices to Lebanon, OR. This location is larger, more centrally located, and allows the council to host meetings and throughout the basin.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 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 June 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 June 1997.
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.
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