Somerset Woods Trustees
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 016016350
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Skohegan, ME, USA
- Phone
- 2076121606
- Rating
- 72
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Land Resources Conservation
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,111,339
- Expenses
- $446,400
- Assets
- $3,942,352
- Liabilities
- $35,051
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Jennifer Brockway (Executive Director)
- John Gibson (President)
- Ernest Hilton (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Jennifer Brockway (Executive Director): $64,900 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 conserve lands with significant ecological or cultural resources and manage them in a sustainable way for public benefit.
What it reported doing in 2024
LAND STEWARDSHIP: In 2024, Somerset Woods partnered with Pierce Pond Watershed Trust to increase our respective stewardship capacity with the addition of a full-time staff position. This new position implemented a trail rehabilitation project at Wesserunsett Stream Preserve, improving the sustainability and accessibility of more than 2 miles of walking trails, and enhanced public use infrastructure at Parsons Family Preserve to facilitate increased visitation and engagement in the long-term habitat restoration project underway on this in-town property. Invasive plant surveys were completed on three parcels, resulting in comprehensive management plans for the long-term protection of native biodiversity and enhanced forest health. A new non-motorized trail network was established at our flagship property, Parkman Hill Farm.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% 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 - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 50
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 84
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 18.6%; rating input score 19
- Program expense ratio: 88.6%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $102.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 7th 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 78.9%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.83; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14.5%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 29.5% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 29.8% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 18.6% of revenue deployed · 88.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $396K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $65K · 14 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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 19/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.