Northcoast Regional Land Trust

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
680456290
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Bayside, CA, USA
Phone
7078222242
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Farmland Preservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,588,679
Expenses
$2,074,575
Assets
$5,000,340
Liabilities
$421,783

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARTHA SPENCER (BOARD PRESIDENT)
  • CHRISTINE MANHART (1ST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SUSAN MORANDA (2ND VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DAN EHRESMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAN EHRESMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $108,698 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Northcoast regional land trust is dedicated to the protection of working landscapes, farms, forests and grazing lands, and to the preservation and protection of land for its natural, educational, scenic and historic values.

What it reported doing in 2025

Nrlt utilizes voluntary conservation easements and responsible land stewardship to protect wild and working landscapes, vital habitats, local food sources, natural resources, and rural livelihoods. The organization also provides education and other opportunities for the community that help connect people of all ages to the land. To date, nrlt has conserved over 60,000 acres of wild and working lands throughout the region, with active conservation projects spanning across another 40,000 acres.

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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Liabilities are high compared with assets and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.3%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 93%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $26.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 67; 67th 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: 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: 19.9%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.41; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.3% of revenue deployed · 93% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $109K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • 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 — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.