The Little Forks Conservancy Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 383353122
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Midland, MI, USA
- Phone
- 9898354886
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Environmental Quality, Protection, and Beautification N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $379,505
- Expenses
- $377,014
- Assets
- $4,123,122
- Liabilities
- $14,731
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Mary Haslam (President)
- Ryan Weiss (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Elan Lipschitz (Executive Dir.): $108,087 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 and improve natural environments in Mid-Michigan by leading and inspiring actions that conserve vital habitats and waterways for the benefit of our entire community.
What it reported doing in 2024
The Conservancy works to perpetually conserve the natural resources of our region through fee simple acquisition or the establishment of conservation easements. The Conservancy maintained trails on its nine publicly accessible nature preserves. The Conservancy provided education to the general public regarding land conservation through direct mail, newsletters, community meetings and events, social media and the website. The Conservancy continued its community outreach through engaging people of all ages in citizen science projects, river clean ups, and the Conservation At Home community program. The conservancy owns nine fee simple preserves totaling 1,003 acres open to the public for low impact recreational use.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 78% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 75.5%; rating input score 75
- Program expense ratio: 74.9%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: $38.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: 0.7%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.94; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 28.7%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0% per year; rating input score 0; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 75.5% of revenue deployed · 74.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $282K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $108K · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.