Big Waters Land Trust Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 200345249
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Osprey, FL, USA
- Phone
- 9419182100
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Natural Resources Conservation and Protection
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,947,554
- Expenses
- $3,816,608
- Assets
- $38,852,882
- Liabilities
- $586,341
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Christine Johnson (President)
Highest reported compensation
- Christine Johnson (President): $206,662 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To protect land and water for the benefit of people and nature.
What it reported doing in 2024
In our 22-year history, Big Waters Land Trust has protected 69 properties totaling 20,071 acres, for the benefit of people and nature. The organization collaborated with 67 private, public, and not-for-profit organizations in the past year. The organization's mission is supported by over 800 donors annually. Cumulatively over the past 22 years, total revenues exceeded $72,000,000 derived from contributions, grants, and other program fees such as contract work with Sarasota County's environmentally sensitive land acquisitions program. Education programs include programming for youth and adults that connect people of all ages and abilities to nature and to each other, building a conservation community.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 90% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filed totals do not add up.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 73
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 80
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 72.3%; rating input score 72
- Program expense ratio: 85.6%; rating input score 86
- Fundraising efficiency: $11.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 22.9%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.18; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 72.3% of revenue deployed · 85.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $207K · 14 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $940K reported
- Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.