Westmoreland Land Trust

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770710733
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2019, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Latrobe, PA, USA
Phone
7243253031
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$529,642
Expenses
$390,810
Assets
$6,916,496
Liabilities
$6,480

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Betsy Aiken (Prior Executive Director)
  • Leanna Bird (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Betsy Aiken (Prior Executive Director): $49,200 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To conserve and steward lands and waters of Westmoreland County that harbor ecological, cultural or recreational qualities to offer a healthier and more sustainable future for all.

What it reported doing in 2025

Conserving and caring for land of special ecological, historic, cultural, or recreational value in Westmoreland County for public benefit. Improving conserved lands via trailbuilding, selectively controlling invasive plants, developing interpretive materials and other physical amenities, and strengthening riparian buffers and quality of habitat via plantings. Building understanding and appreciation of nature via workshops in public schools. Promoting land conservation and best practices for stewardship of conserved lands.

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.1%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 77.6%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $52.3 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: Fail
    • 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: 26.2%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 17.7; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.6%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21.3% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.4% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 36% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.1% of revenue deployed · 77.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $303K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $49K · 21 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.