Lower Phalen Creek Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
275469929
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
St Paul, MN, USA
Phone
6513702106
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,133,391
Expenses
$1,902,846
Assets
$14,953,690
Liabilities
$801,140

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MAGGIE LORENZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MAGGIE LORENZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $151,700 total reported compensation
  • KATHLEEN GAMADES (DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT): $121,440 total reported compensation
  • KATHERINE BEANE (CHAIR): $2,750 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Engaging people to honor and care for our natural places and the sacred sites and cultural value within them.

What it reported doing in 2025

Wta's land and environment program co-manages the 27-acre wakan tipi (formerly, bruce vento nature sanctuary) with the city of saint paul. In 2025, wta engaged nearly 500 volunteers through 20 volunteer events and more than 400 participants in 13 environmental education events. Land and environment is also leading a major restoration project to daylight phalen creek- in 2025, the project accomplished 60% design development for phase 1 of the project, a mile stretch of creek at the south end of lake phalen. Please see schedule o for additional program languagewta's exhibits and interpretive program completed development and began installation of the permanent indoor and outdoor exhibits for wakan tipi center, a 7,500 sq ft. Cultural and environmental interpretive center located at the entrance to wakan tipi cultural site. Wta also hosted 11 interpretive site tours with a total of 183 participants.wta's cultural and community programs hosted 16 events and engaged more than 600 participants. Events included dakota language tables, winter storytelling, and a community canoe build.

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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 76%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $30.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.8%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.86; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.5%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.5% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 21.4% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 29.7% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71% of revenue deployed · 76% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $152K · 9 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $221K reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.