Minnesota Land Trust

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411713652
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Saint Paul, MN, US
Phone
651-647-9590
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$25,825,253
Expenses
$21,433,475
Assets
$26,759,235
Liabilities
$2,613,786

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

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KRIS WILLIAM LARSON (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • KRIS WILLIAM LARSON (CEO): $203,165 total reported compensation
  • AMY SCHWARZ (GENERAL COUNSEL): $160,309 total reported compensation
  • CLAIRE COLLIANDER (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND OP): $157,814 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 protect and restore Minnesota’s land, water, and wildlife so that nature thrives—for everyone, forever.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Minnesota land trust engages in three primary strategies to accomplish its mission. Protect: protect important natural habitats through conservation easements and fee title transactions. Restore: partner with governmental entities on recovering the ecological functions of the st. Louis river estuary and help landowners restore their protected lands to native habitat. Engage: invest in efforts designed to engage current and future generations of minnesotans in the great outdoors in order to maintain Minnesota's great conservation ethic. See schedule o for more details.protection: the land trust works with landowners and local communities to protect and restore Minnesota's cherished but increasingly threatened lands and waters primarily through establishing, creating, and monitoring perpetual conservation easements. 760 land protection projects have been completed since 1991, totaling 79,131 acres and 3,000,000 feet of shoreline. Restoration: the land trust has partnered with local, state, federal and tribal entities on restoration work in the st. Louis river estuary, a unique, 12,000-acre wetland complex between duluth, mn and superior, wi. The restoration program also helps private landowners restore their land to its natural state, helping to protect wildlife habitat as well as our state's signature lakes and rivers. Engagement: land trust fosters a conservation ethos by building connections to nature and increasing access to meaningful nature experiences for all minnesotans.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 75% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.7%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 89.3%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $29.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th 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: 17%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.25; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.7%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 74.7% of revenue deployed · 89.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $19.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $203K · 31 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 43 of 43 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.