Gathering Waters Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391805090
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Madison, WI, USA
Phone
6082519131
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,775,856
Expenses
$1,390,406
Assets
$2,114,539
Liabilities
$204,006

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL CARLSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL CARLSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $134,976 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Gathering waters (Wisconsin's alliance for land trusts) strengthens land trusts to protect Wisconsin's special places and grow healthy, vibrant communities. The stronger the alliance between gathering waters' staff and board members, land trust leaders, and the broader conservation community, the more successful we are in protecting the lands that provide so much value to all of us.

What it reported doing in 2025

Education and public outreach: educate the general public, professionals, and private landowners about the importance of land conservation and the voluntary tools available to permanently set aside private lands for conservation. Gathering waters maintains an interactive website and publishes paper and electronic newsletters throughout the year. During 2025, gathering waters held a statewide conference for land trusts and other conservation organizations with 130 participants in attendance; held "land trust days", to promote opportunities for nearly 2,000 people to participate in activities organized by Wisconsin's land trusts on land that they have protected; and held various award events honoring significant contributions made by leaders in land conservation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56.7%; rating input score 57
  • Program expense ratio: 70.5%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 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: 21.7%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.52; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.7%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 56.7% of revenue deployed · 70.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $980K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $135K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 57/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.