The Scenic Hudson Land Trust Inc

Overview

Mission

See Schedule O for The Scenic Hudson Land Trust's mission statement.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Scenic Hudson Land Trust (which has no employees) was founded exclusively for the benefit of and to serve the purposes of Scenic Hudson, to the extent that those purposes relate to acquiring and holding land in the Hudson Valley, in order to preserve and protect such land for the benefit of the public, including transferring lands to federal, state, and local governments and other not-for-profit organizations. Accordingly, the Land Trust acquires conservation easements and normally holds title to program-related investments in land and parks owned by the Organization.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 88% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237148333
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Headquarters
Poughkeepsie, NY, USA
Phone
8454734440
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 62
  • Accountability: 87
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 89.6%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $27.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.3%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 26.12; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 89.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 18 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $11.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $636K · 21 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $105K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 annual filings from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 23 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Edward O Sullivan (President): $635,834 total reported compensation
  • Erin Riley (Senior VP): $444,312 total reported compensation
  • Jason Camporese (Chief Finance & Operations): $402,020 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.