Ctrees

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
880538773
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Pasadena, CA, USA
Phone
8183541666
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Forest Conservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,547,057
Expenses
$5,195,979
Assets
$6,269,584
Liabilities
$121,492

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

Leadership & pay

2 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SASSAN SAATCHI (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • SASSAN SAATCHI (CEO): $247,499 total reported compensation
  • STEPHEN HAGEN (COO): $182,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To track carbon in every tree on the planet and to deliver science-based geospatial data for enabling natural climate solutions at all sacles.

What it reported doing in 2025

To develop a global monitoring system and science based data products to support efforsts to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation and restore forests at all sacles.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 68% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 56
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.6%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 93.2%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 31.2%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.21; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.3%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 46.1% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.1% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.6% of revenue deployed · 93.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 2 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $247K · 2 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Independent members within voting members did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.