One Tree Planted

Legal name: One Tree Planted Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN: 464664562
IRS 990 coverage: 2017–2024
Official website data refreshed: Sep 2026
Forms available: Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2016, Form 990-T 2024
Location: Shelburne, Vermont, United States
Phone: +1 (800) 408-7850
Rating: 74
Verdict: SUPPORTED
Rating confidence: Moderate
Sector: Private Independent Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue: $54,825,987
Expenses: $46,269,602
Assets: $40,444,034
Liabilities: $17,310,559

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

HARRY P LYNCH (PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

HARRY P LYNCH (PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $279,895 total reported compensation
SHALON ANGEL ZEFERJAHN (GENERAL COUNSEL): $278,812 total reported compensation
CATHERYN M JONES (CHIEF STRATEGY & MARCOMMS OFFICER): $174,616 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 foster a sustainable and resilient future through innovative nature-based solutions rooted in the science of trees.

What it reported doing in 2024

One tree planted 35.5 million trees, spanning 41,475 hectares (about 102,500 acres) across 236 projects in 62 countries with 203 planting partners. Through these projects, 86,960 farming families were supported, 78,743 women were involved, and 140,589 jobs were created.

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 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 most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

Financial Efficiency: 74
Transparency & Controls: 58
Accountability: 93
Sustainability: 60
Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

Mission deployment rate: 72%; rating input score 72
Program expense ratio: 84.3%; rating input score 84
Fundraising efficiency: $14.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Pass
- 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: Scored; rating input score 0
Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

Independent voting board: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 34th 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: 15.6%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.87; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Officer compensation ratio: 2.3%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

Program expense growth: 36.7% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
Revenue growth: 36% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
Asset growth: 37.1% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 4 operating locations identified
Where the money goes: 72% of revenue deployed · 84.3% of spending went to programs
Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $39M in reported program spending
Leadership: top reported pay $280K · 15 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1.3M reported
Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
Contacts: How to reach this organization
Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
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 scored 0/100.
High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.
Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.