Archangel Ancient Tree Archive

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
271366886
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Copemish, MI, USA
Phone
2313784400
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$403,111
Expenses
$879,979
Assets
$1,054,107
Liabilities
$139,260

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JARED MILARCH (EXECUTIVE DI): $85,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Archangel ancient tree archive (aata) was established to propagate, archive and reforest the earth with the propagules of some of the world's most important old-growth, champion trees to benefit all life through the natural filtering powers of trees to increase oxygenation, sequester carbon dioxide, and provide beneficial aerosols and medicines. Aata also educates and motivates others to understand the importance of our mission through lectures, print, video, as well as through our website and social media sources. We take part in a variety of environmental forums and donate trees for planting events such as earth day, arbor day, boy/girl scouts of america, grand openings, school events and conservation district projects. Aata searches for ancient trees and begins the process of seeking the owner's permission to collect and propagate a tree. Following collection, it sets up a routine to propagate the offspring of the parent trees and then archives them in living libraries for future pr

What it reported doing in 2024

Collection: aata collected cuttings from several Michigan sequoia, Florida oaks and cypress, Montana dogwood, California giant sequoia and coast redwood trees to increase our inventory. Also, sugar maple, basswood, and red maple were collected research in our micropropagation lab. Propagation: aata continued with successful tissue culture with concentration on coast redwoods and giant sequoia, sugar maple, basswood, and red maple. This process enables the organization to mass produce replicas of these iconic trees. 2024 was the eighth year for propagating giant sequoia seedlings, coast redwood, black willow, and dogwood trees. Archiving: aata continues to expand their living libraries. Aata has partnered with a nursery in pescadero, ca, to grow out redwoods and sequoias in their native climates. Reforestation 2024: 1000 redwoods were planted in various locations in Washington, Oregon, and California. 2000 black willows were planted in various riparian locations in Michigan. 300 champion giant sequoia, coast redwood, and monterey pine trees were planted on the 2000 giant sequoia seedlings were shipped to the tule river tribe reservation, in California. 200 coast redwoods shipped to six Oregon state parks. Education and outreach: aata continues to refine its website to further educate the public. Aata continues to be involved with media opportunities including national radio and television, in print and online. Aata's tree school hosted over 1000 school children, as well as adult groups, with a focus on "propagating the propagators". Aata continues to host tree school, for 3-12 school groups, and adult groups at the aata facility. Tree school events include collection, propagation, and planting demonstrations and techniques.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 67%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $20.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -118.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.2; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.7%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 67% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $589K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $85K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.