SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS FUND
Protect, Encourage Appreciation, and Understanding of the Santa Monica Mountains
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
SAMO Fund works to grow and preserve the Santa Monica Mountain natural wildlife population-both plants and animals- along with their surrounding habitats. SAMO Fund also works to protect and encourage appreciation and understanding of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) by supporting National Park Service endeavors in SMMNRA. The SAMO Fund achieves this mission by partnering with the National Park Service (NPS) to further education, science, and research; improved park facilities and trails; engage community members and youth in education; and lead efforts to steward the natural and cultural resources of these beautiful parklands.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Species and Habitat Protection
Central to SAMO Fund's mission is the conservation of the unique flora and fauna of the SMMNRA. The Santa Monica Mountains face ongoing threats from habitat degradation due to urbanization, invasive species, and climate change. Rapid development and human activity contribute to the fragmentation of crucial habitats, endangering the diverse plant and animal species that call this region home.
- through initiatives like habitat restoration and two Native Plant Nurseries, now cultivating and replanting around 85,000 native plants annually, including species vital for the survival of endangered butterflies like the Monarch.
- focusing on key species such as mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, and the California Red-Legged Frog. Through research, habitat restoration, we work to ensure the survival of these species. Notably, SAMO Fund is a partner in the development of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.
Fostering the Next Generation of Environmental Stewards and Professionals
SAMO Fund reaches thousands through its educational programs. The Open Outdoors for Kids program alone engages about 25,000 fourth graders annually, most from Title I schools. The Fund's youth workforce programs also play a crucial role, offering hands-on conservation experience to diverse groups of young people, thereby fostering the next generation of environmental stewards and professionals. We partner with the National Park Service programs, SAMO Youth and OYE, that employ BIPOC youth to learn workplace skills from experienced rangers and crew leaders, to foster career opportunities for those who are historically underrepresented in the conservation field. Finally, we support outreach into urban communities to provide engaging experiences that encourage families and youth to visit the mountains.
Current Santa Monica Mountains Fund education projects include:
Every Kid Outdoors
SAMO Youth
Oxnard Youth Ecologists
Girls Outside e Afuera!
Historic and Cultural Preservation
Preserving the cultural heritage of the SMMNRA is essential, abounding not just with wildlife, but with archeological, historical, and cultural sites, and is the ancestral homeland of the Chumash and Tongva peoples. SAMO Fund has also raised over $1 million for projects like the restoration of Paramount Ranch, a site of historical significance in American filmmaking. Additionally, we are working to protect and showcase the history of indigenous and African American communities in the area, ensuring their stories and contributions are recognized and honored.
Since the Woolsey Fire of 2018, SAMO Fund is intrinsically involved in the five year program to restore the park (88% if National Park Service land in the Santa Monica Mountains was destroyed in the fire).
Current projects include:
Park Facilities and Signage
Trail Construction and Maintenance
Rebuilding the Paramount Movie Ranch
Ballard Mountain Exhibition/Curriculum
Cultural Identification/Interpretation
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of free participants on field trips
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Ethnic and racial groups
Related Program
Fostering the Next Generation of Environmental Stewards and Professionals
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
The Fund provides back office support to the Open Outdoors for Kids Focus City program for Los Angeles. The pandemic meant programs were online from March 2020 to 2021. This figure reflects that.
Number of public events held to further mission
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth, Low-income people, Working poor, Extremely poor people
Related Program
Fostering the Next Generation of Environmental Stewards and Professionals
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
The events included street fairs, corporate earth days, our fundraiser and informational events for various interest groups.
Number of multi-year contracts received
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Species and Habitat Protection
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
- To encourage stewardship among all ages
- Engage the next generation of young people to gain experience of nature and the mountains through education
- To support flora and fauna in the Santa Monica Mountains.
- To maintain trails and facilities in the park
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
- To work with the National Park Service to ensure the money we raise is used for necessary purposes such as trail
and facility maintenance, native plant propagation, education programs, wildlife protection.
- To provide opportunities for children and youth to learn in the park and have work experience so they learn about the importance of our eco-systems. The fact that a city like Los Angeles can support such large-ranging animals as the mountain lion, bobcat, and coyotes alongside the small but impactful red-legged frog and monarch butterfly, is a testament to the quality of open space and the habitat connectivity that remains. Sadly, several of these unique species are under threat from loss of habitat, road construction, rodenticides, and other environmental dangers.
-To fund programming that targets the youth and community surrounding the park. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is a proud outlier in a national park system that endeavors to serve young people of color. The SAMO Fund provides environmental education for all our neighbors, including the youngest. Our Open Outdoors for Kids program brings about 25,000 fourth graders to the park every year, most from Title I schools, 90% from diverse backgrounds. For many, it is their first-ever visit to a national park. For older youth and first-generation college students, we offer internships that pay full salary at fair wages. 80% of our SAMO Youth interns are from diverse backgrounds. We hire and provide logistical support, while NPS rangers act as mentors, offering firsthand experience in public land careers. Our Oxnard Youth Ecologists (“OYE”) are Latinx high schoolers from Los Angeles and the nearby Ventura agricultural community to learn in-demand habitat restoration job skills with our Monarch and Milkweed Native Plant Nursery program.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Despite a global pandemic, wildfires, and other environmental crises occurring with alarmingly increasing frequency, the SAMO Fund has managed to significantly expand its animal, plant, and habitat preservation and restoration efforts with tremendous impact, particularly over the last three years.
The Fund’s true strength lies in its ability to manage its resources and create partnerships that benefit and sustain the park and community.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2020, the SAMO Fund, in partnership with the National Park Service, began a multi-year effort to provide more of the monarch’s essential host and nectar plants. In just the first year, 20,000 milkweed plants were installed in restored areas of the park. As early as late 2021, there were signs of Monarchs replenishing (Xerxes, 2021). This progress has motivated SAMO to escalate conservation activities in 2022-23. We plan to collect 15 pounds of seeds from three native milkweed species to create a diverse seed stock and propagate over 100,000 plants from seeds at the Fund’s Native Plant Nursery and select and prepare 150 acres for planting.
SAMO Fund supports the two-decades-long NPS study of our mountain lions by purchasing radio collars, tracking vehicles, anticoagulant testing, health diagnostics and disease surveys. SAMO Fund also provides satellite collars and necropsy tests to determine major threats to the local bobcat population and supports the NPS study of urban coyotes since 2015, by contributing cameras to track the animals’ movement through community volunteer engagement.
The Red-Legged Frog may be small, but it plays an integral role in balancing the ecosystem in the Santa Monica Mountains, as it serves as a natural pest control and is a valuable food source for other important species. We have funded interns and a biological technician, who helped NPS reintroduce California red-legged frogs to the park. Prior to our efforts, the frogs had been extinct from the park since the 1970s.
Annually we host the Open Outdoors for Kids Day, targeted to students aged 9-10. This free experience brings approximately 25,000 4th graders on a day’s journey to the park, many coming from Title 1 schools that otherwise might not have the budget for outdoor education programming. Over 90% of participating students come from low-income communities of color. For many participants, Open Outdoors for Kids is their first-ever visit to a national park. Children go hiking, set up tents, participate in nature education programs, and learn about the biodiversity of the park and its animals. With Santa Monica Mountains in their backyard, this early exposure to nature conservancy can inspire them to become the next generation of national park stewards.
The SAMO Youth program is the bedrock of our youth environmental education and leadership programs. The first program of its kind in the National Park Service, and with over twenty-two years of past student cohorts, this partnership between the SAMO Fund and the NPS tackles the historical lack of equitable paid work experience for first-generation underserved youth seeking career experience in conservation, recreation, and parks management. Up to 22 students are selected to secure a market fair salary for this 8-week summer program. Paired with NPS staff mentor, SAMO Youth experience the daily life of a park ranger; provide trail maintenance, restore structures and habitats, interpret nature to the public.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, A lot of the people that we serve are youth and students. A lot of feedback comes from teachers.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS FUND
Board of directorsas of 01/30/2024
Ms. Kim Kovacs
Dennis Washburn
Southern California Cities Council of Governments (COG) Committee
Tess Macaraya
M & G Partners
Annemarie Greenwood
Evironmental Consultant
Thomas Bliss
Community Volunteer
Darrin Hurwitz
National Education Association
Marilyn Peake Peake
Reiter Affiliate Companies
Asia Marie Evans
Dreamworks Animation
Elaine Lee
Amgen, Inc.
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/26/2024GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.