Land Conservancy of Ridgefield Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
066087261
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Ridgefield, CT, USA
Phone
2032407897
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$19,880
Expenses
$19,702
Assets
$9,483,481
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael Carpenter (President)

People named in this filing

  • Carroll Brewster (Director)
  • Michael Carpenter (President)
  • Allison Archambault (Treasurer)

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 Land Conservancy's vision is a beautiful, historic New England town rich in diverse wildlife, scenic beauty, and natural resources that will enhance the lives of its citizens. These goals are accomplished through:* Research: establishing the criteria by which conservation-worthy land will be identified.* Education: inform the community of the benefit they will realize through the donation of land to the Land Conservancy.* Strength: assemble and maintain a knowledgeable and diverse team of land stewards that will forever guard and help preserve gifts of land.* Professionalism: maintain a Board of Directors and Officers that will appropriately address the business of operating a land trust that meets or exceeds its obligations to the community.

What it reported doing in 2025

One of the primary activities of the Land Conservancy relates to ongoing stewardship responsibilities. Members of the Board conduct annual field reviews of Land Conservancy properties and easements, at no cost, to insure that their existing condition is found to be consistent with the donors wishes and expectations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.7%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 80.1%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.9%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 481.35; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1% per year; rating input score 0; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.7% of revenue deployed · 80.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $16K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 14 of 14 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.