Watershed Ag Council Conservation Easement Stewardship Endowment

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
276951127
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Walton, NY, USA
Phone
6078657790
Rating
37
Verdict
REVIEW
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$932,582
Expenses
$0
Assets
$9,257,142
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • RYAN NAATZ (EXECUTIVE DI): $201,056 total reported compensation
  • AMY FAULKNER (DIRECTOR OF): $165,316 total reported compensation
  • CAROL BISHOP (FINANCE DIRE): $161,833 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See schedule o

What it reported doing in 2024

The property of this trust shall be used solely and exclusively to provide financial resources to the watershed agricultural council, or any qualified successor such as a not-for-profit organization as defined by article 49 of the New York state enviromental conservatioon law, of the agricultural conservation easements (ces) now held by the council, for the stewardship or those ces.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 65% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
No current program activity. The filing reports no program spending for the current year.

The verdict

REVIEW - The filed numbers largely add up and most filed governance safeguards are in place. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 11
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: Limited
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: Limited
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -8.5% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed
  • Governance: 9 of 15 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $201K · 26 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 10 of 10 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.