Cazenovia Preservation Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
166101151
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Cazenovia, NY, USA
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$462,037
Expenses
$270,215
Assets
$1,552,556
Liabilities
$3,735

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jennifer Wong (Executive Director)
  • David Gerber (President)
  • Craig Buckhout (Vice president)

Highest reported compensation

  • Jennifer Wong (Executive Director): $52,005 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We protect the historic, agricultural and natural resources surrounding Cazenovia NY for the benefit of the community.

What it reported doing in 2025

Conservation planning, projects and acquisitions: Review and approval of new agricultural, forest land and historic preservation projects; grant writing and management to support projects and acquisitions; outreach to owners of strategic land conservation and trail connectivity properties; engagement with municipalities and other local, county, state and non-profit planning and conservation agencies and organizations; review of proposed renewable energy generation projects and potential impacts to natural and visual resources; and engagement in local land use planning.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% 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

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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 45
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 36.2%; rating input score 36
  • Program expense ratio: 58.4%; rating input score 58
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 41.5%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.75; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.2%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 36.2% of revenue deployed · 58.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $158K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $52K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 36/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.