Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
066082034
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Kent, CT, USA
Phone
8609271927
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,554,105
Expenses
$2,450,987
Assets
$83,192,775
Liabilities
$6,377,514

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARGERY FELDBERG (PRESIDENT)
  • JAMES MILLSTEIN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID DE LUCA (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • CATHERINE RAWSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND VP)

Highest reported compensation

  • CATHERINE RAWSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND VP): $225,546 total reported compensation
  • AMANDA BRANSON (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND): $159,717 total reported compensation
  • KATHERINE KINSOLVING (DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY): $145,868 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Northwest Connecticut land conservancy, inc. Is a nonprofit land trust that benefits the general public through education and the conservation of natural areas, fish and wildlife, and working farmland throughout northwest Connecticut.

What it reported doing in 2024

The land trust safeguards natural lands and waters, conserves working farmland, and creates healthy communities by connecting people to nature. In working to achieve its mission, the land trust invests in regional partnerships that foster conservation, support the work of partner land trusts, towns and government agencies, and provide conservation benefits to the communities served. Annually, the land trust provides hundreds of hours of staff support to its nonprofit and governmental partners for acquisitions, advocacy, education and trainings, events, grant writing, and stewardship. The land trust's staff serve in leadership positions with the Connecticut land conservation council, land trust accreditation commission, litchfield hills greenprint collaborative, and working lands alliance. The land trust also convenes meet your greens, litchfield county's green drinks, a monthly gathering for environmental professionals and enthusiasts, andsmall area land trusts (salt), a bi-annual meeting of partner land trusts, conservation organizations, and agencies to discuss acquisition, stewardship, governance and outreach issues.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 24.5%; rating input score 25
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $49.37 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 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: 74.3%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 33.94; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.7%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 24.5% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $226K · 16 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $408K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.