Nature Forward

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
530233715
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chevy Chase, MD, USA
Phone
3016529188
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,949,818
Expenses
$5,662,263
Assets
$15,927,791
Liabilities
$1,036,641

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Lisa Alexander (Executive Director - Former)
  • Alison Pearce (Executive Director)
  • John Green (Vice President)
  • Diane Wood (Immediate Past President)
  • Nancy Voit (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Lisa Alexander (Executive Director - Former): $263,173 total reported compensation
  • Sherrice Ajebon (Deputy Director of Finance): $130,950 total reported compensation
  • Amy Ritsko-Warren (Deputy Director of Administration): $115,395 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Nature Forward inspires residents of the DC area to appreciate, understand, and protect their natural environment through outdoor experiences, education and advocacy, and creates a larger and more diverse community of people who treasure the natural world and work to preserve it.

What it reported doing in 2024

Environmental Education Nature Forwards educational mission is to nurture a lifetime of outdoor discovery, exploration and stewardship of nature for people in the Washington, DC metro region. The Organization connects with individuals and groups of all ages to create a community of people who actively care for the natural world. Through our children and youth programs we reach more than 14,000 children each year with classroom visits, school field trips, afterschool programs, a licensed preschool, and summer camps. Our GreenKids program partners with public schools in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties in Maryland, Loudon County in Virginia and the District of Columbia to foster a culture of environmental stewardship in schools and provide professional development to teachers. Our continuing education programs educate and train more than 2,000 adults annually in natural history and conservation topics. Our outreach programs work to reach families in their communitiesnear where people live, work, and go to schooland connect them to nearby nature through engaging, hands-on activities and trainings. We work with community leaders, partner organizations, and empowered community members.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 56
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.3%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 86.2%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th 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: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • 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: 50%; rating input score 50; 15th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.8%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.81; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.3% of revenue deployed · 86.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $4.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $263K · 21 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 50/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.