Amah Mutsun Land Trust

Overview

Mission

See Schedule O.

What it reported doing in 2024

Amah Mutsun Land Trust (AMLT) partners with federal land agencies, the state of California, land trusts, conservation groups, nonprofits, foundations, and private donors to identify, nurture, and maintain traditional Amah Mutsun lands. These partnerships work to restore these lands to the pre-contact conditions achieved by traditional native stewardship practices over many thousands of years. AMLT also identifies traditional and sacred sites, works to determine the best land management practices (including prescribed fire/burn management techniques and traditional/ancestral flora maintenance ways) to restore traditional lands and waterways to a healthy, sustainable condition.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 77% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
320447436
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Phone
8312153700
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nonmonetary Support N.E.C.

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 46
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 29.2%; rating input score 29
  • Program expense ratio: 67.3%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $31.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 57.9%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.32; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.3%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 29% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 48.1% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 29.2% of revenue deployed · 67.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $834K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $102K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 annual filings from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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

11 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Athena Hernandez (In House Counsel): $102,487 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.