Land Trust Alliance

What it reported doing in 2024

Education and capacity building: the alliance continues to strengthen, empower and magnify the impact of its more than 1,000-member land trusts and affiliates. The alliance provides land trusts with the tools they need to grow in strength and impact. Through our national land conservation conference, regional conferences, webinars and online resource center, we provided 77 trainings, 47 self-study online courses and 7 toolkits on all aspects of conservation work, including risk management, fundraising, and board and professional development for more than 13,500 registrants in 2024. Our transformative leadership training and land trust excellence programs continued to invest in high-potential leaders and organizations with an added emphasis on strategic communications, conservation planning and public engagement. At the end of the year, there were 470 accredited land trusts in 46 states and two territories, representing more than 84% of the acres of farmland, forests, wildlife habitat and important water supplies stewarded by land trusts across the country. We updated guidance for implementing the 2017 edition of land trust standards and practices, the ethical and technical guidelines for operating a land trust. We launched a new resource, the ecosystem services valuation tool, to help land trusts estimate the value of benefits generated by the ecosystems they steward. Since its launch in may, the tool has become one of the most visited resources of the year.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 86.4%; rating input score 86
• Program expense ratio: 85.6%; rating input score 86
• Fundraising efficiency: $8.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Missing
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 92.6%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 0.7%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.11; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 13.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings