Northern Virginia Conservation Trust
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 541724626
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Annandale, VA, USA
- Phone
- 7033545093
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Land Resources Conservation
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,426,121
- Expenses
- $1,298,028
- Assets
- $3,667,374
- Liabilities
- $186,022
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Alan Rowsome (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Alan Rowsome (Executive Director): $189,083 total reported compensation
- Matthew Gerhart (Conservation Director): $128,357 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust saves nearby nature by encouraging and assisting governments and private landowners to preserve and care for natural areas, trails, streams, parks, and historic and cultural resources for the benefit of current and future generations.
What it reported doing in 2024
Land Conservation & Stewardship of conserved land in perpetuity - StewardshipHow: gathered volunteers to clean up trash from Hunting Creek on land and by water in kayaks- Who: residents of the Potomac Watershed- What: picked up hundreds of pounds of trash that polluted a key waterway- Where: Alexandria, VAFood How: partnered with Friends of Urban Agriculture and local volunteers to grow and maintain a community gardenWho: Arlington residents facing food insecurityWhat: planted and cared for a community garden where all produce grown is donated to local food pantriesWhere: Arlington, VA
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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 67
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 57
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 69.3%; rating input score 69
- Program expense ratio: 74.2%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $9.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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: 9%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.83; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 24.5%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 69.3% of revenue deployed · 74.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $963K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $189K · 18 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 36/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.