Dutchess Land Conservancy Inc

What it reported doing in 2025

Stewardship: the organization has now protected 48,400 acres stewarding 457 conservation easements. The organization monitors all properties annually, a majority by aerial overflight, and ground monitors its easements on a three to four year rotational basis. In 2025, the organization monitored all conservation easements, a majority by air, and completed 143 on a 3-to-4-year rotational ground monitoring schedule through staff site visits. The organization worked on numerous stewardship matters from prior approval requests and land management questions to resolving easement issues. In 2025, the organization again registered for terrafirma, the conservation easement defense insurance program to enhance its ability to successfully enforce its easements. Each year, the organization also provides research and land management (stewardship) assistance. Staff strive to keep up to date on additional sources of aerial photography and the use of satellite imagery as a monitoring tool. The organization's stewardship responsibilities continue to increase each year as more and more easements are accepted. The organization continues to improve the tracking of easement protected property sales, communication with landowners, and maintaining a "watch list" of easement protected land on the market to check for new ownership. Throughout the year, the staff files critical easement related documents in the organization's archival storage unit in an off-site facility to ensure the long-term safety of the organization's most valuable documents. The organization also continued its collaboration with the columbia land conservancy (clc) and the american farmland trust's farmland for new generation program on a farmer landowner match program, that facilitates lease agreements between landowners seeking to have their land farmed, and farmers seeking land, as a way to keep land open.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 54.8%; rating input score 55
• Program expense ratio: 80.5%; rating input score 81
• Fundraising efficiency: $18.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th 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: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • 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: 42.1%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.62; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings