Green Foothills Foundation Dba Green Foothills

What it reported doing in 2025

Community Building Programs: Leadership, Tribal/Indigenous Partnerships, Healing in Nature. Our Leadership Program trains and invests in community members of all backgrounds in equitable, inclusive environmental activism in San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Benito Counties. This year marked our 12th cohort and the third year we offered the program tuition-free and in Spanish and English, thanks to generous support from donors. The program builds community leader capacity that harnesses the power of collaboration within communities and mobilizes change agents to advance equitable, inclusive environmental activism locally. The Program aims to create pathways for people from all backgrounds to engage in and lead conservation work to help broaden representation in the local conservation movement. Leadership Program alumni 1) assume leadership roles where they apply a lens of environmental advocacy and cultural humility in their work; 2) initiate and join successful campaigns that advance Green Foothills mission and vision; and 3) are involved in the Green Foothills community. 2025 impact metrics: 22 local changemakers graduated (including 2 Spanish speakers) for a total of 300 alumni since 2014. 31 alumni took on new leadership roles for a total of 168 since 2014, and 13 initiatives were won by alumni for a total of 74 initiatives since 2014. In 2025, Green Foothills advocacy staff continued to partner with the Amah Mutsun to protect Juristac - the sacred heart of their ancestral territory - from a proposed open-pit sand and gravel mine, and again provided $3,000 in sponsorships to Calpulli Tonalehqueh, an Aztec dance group, for their Mexica New Year event. We also consulted with our Tribal and Indigenous Partners about their evolving needs, incorporating their feedback into our new 2025-2030 Green Foothills Strategic Plan Partnership Pillar. This is the first Green Foothills Strategic Plan to recognize (1) the importance of building authentic relationships with local tribes and Indigenous groups, and (2) that Indigenous peoples are foundational guardians of the land, carrying centuries of ecological wisdom that scientific approaches have often overlooked. The goals of the Pillar are to: Support and partner with local tribes to advance Indigenous land stewardship, including access to and ownership of ancestral lands and restoration of culturally significant landscapes. Build capacity among Indigenous partner tribes and organizations to effectively advocate for the permanent protection of their ancestral lands and engage in restoration and stewardship efforts.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 49%; rating input score 49
• Program expense ratio: 69.9%; rating input score 70
• Fundraising efficiency: $8.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 86.7%; rating input score 87; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 87.2%; rating input score 87; 41st percentile among comparable filings
• 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 33.7%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.07; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 11%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 21.6% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings