Blue Mountain Land Trust

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911989279
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2013
Location
Walla Walla, WA, USA
Phone
5095253136
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$858,244
Expenses
$845,458
Assets
$2,031,709
Liabilities
$427,980

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBIN FITCH (PRESIDENT)
  • SUSAN PLUNKETT (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • AMANDA MARTINO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMANDA MARTINO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $118,486 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We protect the lands and waters of the blue mountain region for people, agriculture, and wildlife. We do this through conservation, stewardship, and community engagement across southeast Washington and eastern Oregon.

What it reported doing in 2024

Recreation - bmlt repaired and stewarded recreational trails in the north fork umatilla wilderness for accessible outdoor access for the public. Bmlt also maintained and expanded winter trail access at the horseshoe prairie nordic ski area and constructed a new seasonal warming hut. Provided opportunities for the public to engage with natural resource experts and get hands on experience working outdoors at volunteer events.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.5%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 61.8%; rating input score 62
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.5%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.4; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.2% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.7% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 63.5% of revenue deployed · 61.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $523K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $118K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.