Land Trust of Bucks County

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232918962
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bedminster, PA, USA
Phone
2157952352
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$99,337
Expenses
$91,285
Assets
$2,042,941
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAMES MAGERAS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID JOHNSON (EXECUTIVE DI): $41,127 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To function as a community-based land conservancy for the preservation of farmland and our agricultural heritages, as well as other open spaces, natural resources, wildlife habitats, and scenic features within bedminster township and other bucks county municipalities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Educates area residents on protecting and preserving land. Promotes, accepts, holds, and monitors conservation easements.

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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. 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: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 58.6%; rating input score 59
  • Program expense ratio: 67.6%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $95.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 89; 89th 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.1%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 22.38; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 45.1%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 58.6% of revenue deployed · 67.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $62K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $41K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • 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 59/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.