Sustainable Iowa Land Trust

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
472730222
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2014
Location
West Branch, IA, USA
Phone
3198008108
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$538,831
Expenses
$900,742
Assets
$3,765,868
Liabilities
$69,215

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BECK LES (PRESIDENT)
  • HENRY JOE (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • HORSEY BREANNA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • HORSEY BREANNA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $107,417 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 permanently protect Iowa land to grow healthy food.

What it reported doing in 2024

Landowner outreach in 2024, silt delivered hands-on education and direct assistance to landowners through consultations, farm events, and virtual programming:-regional coordinators conducted over 75 one-on-one meetings covering site visits, legal options, acep-ale, and farm-management planning.-organized five small farm summer open houses at silt and partner farms, featuring guided tours, cooking demonstrations, and easement seminars; turnout outpaced 2023 levels.-produced a "resources for sustainable food farmers" webinar attended by 68 participants; the recorded presentation was distributed via youtube and partner networks.-developed and shared outreach materialspamphlets for prospective farmers, recordkeeping checklists, and lease-agreement templatesto streamline landowner decision-making around permanent protection.

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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 72%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.12 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 35; 35th 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -67.2%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.18; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.9%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 30% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 72% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $649K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $107K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.