Whatcom Million Trees Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
863913386
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Bellingham, WA, USA
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$110,515
Expenses
$84,201
Assets
$245,899

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Susan Hutton (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Laura Weiss (Board Chair)
  • Michael Feerer (Founder and Board Treasurer)
  • Amy Brown (Board Secretary)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To plant trees within Whatcom County to increase overall tree canopy which will bring numerous benefits to all residents in the County by enhancing local climate resilience health and wellness.

What it reported doing in 2025

Hold community Events and volunteer work parties to increase awareness of the multiple benefits of trees and forests connecting people together in hands-on positive climate action that increases hope and empowerment.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 46.7%; rating input score 47
  • Program expense ratio: 56.8%; rating input score 57

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 23.8%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.92; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 70.3%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 66.9% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.1% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 46.7% of revenue deployed · 56.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 2 filed program accomplishments · $48K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 47/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.