Land in Common Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 263832721
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2019
- Location
- Greene, ME, USA
- Phone
- 2077547575
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community, Neighborhood Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $889,481
- Expenses
- $454,516
- Assets
- $1,971,303
- Liabilities
- $352,248
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Kathryn Boverman (President)
- Daphne Loring (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Ethan Miller (BOARD MEMBER): $60,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Land in Common removes land from speculative markets and places it into a member-run trust, to be cared for over the long-term by its residents. We are creating a multi-generational land base for sustainable livelihoods that supports communities working for just, cooperative, and resilient futures.
What it reported doing in 2024
Land Access: We protect land where people live and work, by removing land from speculative markets and placing it into a cooperatively-held, community-stewarded Commons. We work with land-seeking communities and organizations that historically and presently are excluded from land ownership, and connect them with secure, life-long, and affordable land and infrastructure. In 2024, we created three new land-based communities through this program. We purchased a farm in Porter, Maine which is now the home of La Finca Cooperative, a BIPOC-majority farm cooperative supporting community food security and land connection. We purchased a 66 acre parcel of land along the Little River in Belfast, Maine, which is now a shared community space, offering outdoor and indoor gathering space for a host of local organizations and groups. Finally, we protected a parcel of land along the Sandy River in Avon, Maine, which is now the home to Generations Retreat and Grow Farm, an organization offering outdoor wilderness and agricultural educational opportunities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 97% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 59
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 74
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 42.9%; rating input score 43
- Program expense ratio: 83.5%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $24.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th 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; 63rd 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 48.9%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.34; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13.2%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 53.8% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 28.7% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 22.2% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 42.9% of revenue deployed · 83.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $380K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 43/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.