Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust Inc

Overview

Mission

Flanders' mission is to provide opportunities to appreciate nature's wonders and preserve land, inspiring lifelong learning about our natural world. Flanders' vision is to be a leading resource and destination of choice for environmental and outdoor education, research, land preservation and stewardship, farm experiences and arts activities, reflecting the needs of our changing and inclusive communities and evolving partnerships.

What it reported doing in 2024

Land Stewardship: Flanders serves as the steward of 50 plus open space properties, totaling 2,423 acres in Woodbury, Middlebury, Bethlehem, and Southbury. We are dedicated stewards of the land and manage each property to retain its ecological habitat and ensure that the open space is protected for future generations to enjoy. In its role as steward, Flanders manages and monitors the properties each year while preserving their natural beauty and caring for the eco-system as a whole. These open spaces provide the community with wonderful places for quiet contemplation and low impact recreation including a number of terrific hiking preserves. Flanders maintains the health of its open spaces and nature preserves, so that the woodlands, wetlands and trails remain open for everyone to appreciate and respect, use and enjoy.

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 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
060791823
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Woodbury, CT, USA
Phone
2032633711
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.4%; rating input score 55
  • Program expense ratio: 67.3%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.71 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 30.7%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.88; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.4%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.4% of revenue deployed · 67.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $795K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $99K · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 annual filings from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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

20 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Vincent LaFontan (Executive Dir.): $98,793 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.