Forest Park Conservancy Fka Forest Park Preservation Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
453461963
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2011
Location
Lake Forest, IL, USA
Phone
8472346297
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$344,660
Expenses
$74,503
Assets
$636,062
Liabilities
$23,851

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • THOMAS J DONOVAN (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • NANCY FLETCHER (SECRETARY)
  • THOMAS J DONOVAN (PRESIDENT)
  • CRAIG BERGMANN (DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of forest park preservation corporation (formally forest park project corporation) is to work with the city of lake forest in preserving forest park by providing advice & consultation as well as funds to support preservation projects outside of the city's budget.

What it reported doing in 2025

The mission of the forest park preservation corporation ("the organization")is to work in partnership with the city of lake forest and the entire lake forest community to execute the master plan to preserve forest park for the future use and enjoyment of all residents. As part of that process, the organization is committed to following established standards of excellence in the areas of conservation, horticultural design, engineering, historic preservation, and cultural legacy to protect and strengthen this unique and signficant landscape.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% 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. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 41
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 16.5%; rating input score 17
  • Program expense ratio: 69.8%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $44.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 78.4%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.54; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.4% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 16.5% of revenue deployed · 69.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $52K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 17/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.