Rural Community Assistance
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
RCAC provides training, technical and financial resources and advocacy so rural communities achieve their goals and visions.
- Income
- $90.8 million
- Spending
- $58.5 million
- Spent on programs
- 99%
- Reserves
- 10.8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 79%
- Employees
- 277
- Volunteers
- 9
- Highest pay
- $384,375, ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 83 out of 100. Higher than 73% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 10.8 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 48% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 36% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 54% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1599% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 1 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 42% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 259 of 9 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
15 of 15Its accounts were audited 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 September 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 (5)
- $28.7 million spent. Community & Environmental Services:RCAC assisted 1,068 rural communities to build, improve, manage, operate or finance drinking water, wastewater or solid waste systems. RCAC reached more than 10,000 training participants through 369 workshops on technical, managerial, and financial topics related to environmental infrastructure. RCAC provided more than 170,000 hours of technical assistance and training to Indigenous communities in the West.
- $11.7 million spent. Loan Fund:The Department had a year record breaking year. The Loan Fund closed 72 loans for over $104 million in our rural communities. This generated 815 of affordable housing units, helped produce and repair 10,465 waste/water connections, created 3,910 in community facility space and helped create or retain 2,173 jobs. RCAC began making loans to Native owned businesses through the SSBCI program, closing 3 loans for a total of $500,000 in partnership with the Cahuilla and San Pasqual tribes. The pipeline of applications remains strong, the outstanding portfolio stood at over $151.8 million with a delinquency rate of less than 6% percent. A new Assistant Director position was created and filled.
- $7.9 million spent. RCACs OTHER SERVICES INCLUDE CAPACITY BUILDING, TRAINING, AND RESOURCES FOR OTHER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
- $6.9 million spent. Housing: Mutual Self Help Housing RCAC assisted our 41 grantees to build 456 new construction homes and rehabilitate 60 homes, despite frequent pauses in Federal funding. The Housing Counseling program provided training both on-line and in person. 34 on-line trainings educated 742 attendees and 14 in person trainings educated 224 attendees. Staff continues to support 13 local housing counseling organizations with HUD funding and technical assistance. Staff is preparing to on-board at least three new organizations in FY26.Development Solutions continues to work with non-profits in Hawaii, Montana, Utah, California, Guam, Oregon, and Washington to assist them in building housing development and operational capacity.The Homeownership Program continued to support USDA Rural Developments Section 502 Direct mortgage loan program through training, intermediary processing services, and general promotion to underserved communities. 93 Section 502 loan packagers received the five-day training. Staff also processed 130 loans submitted by local packagers with 98 home loans closing during the fiscal year. Eight Washington homeownership organizations received RCAC support in preparing and submitting project funding applications to the State. The Community Resilience and Disaster Planning program (formerly Disaster Recovery Services). Staff continues to assist in the Camp Fire recovery in Butte County, California, assisting them with mitigation planning and implementation to reduce future wildfire risk. They also are completing a wildfire recovery plan in New Mexico and are completing a Hazard Mitigation Plan revision for a tribe in Northern California.
- $2.5 million spent. Building Rural Economies:RCAC's Building Rural Economies department closed out FY25 strong, working alongside 41 community partners throughout RCAC's service area providing training, technical assistance and small business coaching. BRE facilitated trainings that included 836 participants where 32% belonged to Native or Indigenous communities. BRE partnered alongside 11 Native American Tribes and 3 Native CDFIs. BRE staff have completed or have in progress 60 Smart Growth Projects including several Recharge Our Community's Economy (ROCE) workshop series and 26 Entrepreneurial Ecosystem projects including the facilitation of Start, Grow, Revive Your Business (SGR) workshops and trainings within Native and Indigenous communities. Additionally, BRE provided one on one individual coaching to 51 small businesses and assisted businesses in accessing more than $411,000 in capital. BRE's partner communities have leveraged $975,627.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 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 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 November 6, 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 September 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 November 1978.
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 November 4, 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.