Forest Park Forever

Legal name: Forest Park Forever Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
431427062
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
St. Louis, MO, USA
Phone
314.367.7275
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Beautification and Aesthetics

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$42,276,327
Expenses
$21,196,980
Assets
$246,221,933
Liabilities
$2,086,001

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

Leadership & pay

40 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LESLEY HOFFARTH (PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LESLEY HOFFARTH (PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $462,848 total reported compensation
  • TAMARA SHEFFIELD (SVP-FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES): $281,222 total reported compensation
  • FRANK KARTMANN (SVP-OPERATIONS): $267,023 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Forest Park Forever is a private nonprofit conservancy that partners with the City of St. Louis to restore, maintain and sustain Forest Park.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education, volunteer, and visitor services - forest park forever operates the dennis and judith jones visitor and education center in partnership with explore st. Louis. This center welcomes and assists park users by providing forest park maps, information and directions and access to visitor resources for the st. Louis region. The center also serves as a gathering spot for runners, walkers and cyclists, birders, and various fitness groups. Visitor services are delivered via trained and knowledgeable paid staff and volunteers. The center includes a cafe, special event and meeting spaces, classrooms, exhibit space, public restrooms, secure locker facilities, a fully accessible playground, racquetball and handball courts, free public wifi and a bike repair station. In 2024, an estimated 238,000 visitors and park users came through the visitor and education center.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% 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 - Most voting board members are independent and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 85
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 49.6%; rating input score 50
  • Program expense ratio: 78.7%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 49.9%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.62; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.7%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 49.6% of revenue deployed · 78.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 31 of 31 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $16.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $463K · 40 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.5M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 50/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.