World Forestry Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 936034757
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Portland, OR, USA
- Phone
- 5032281367
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Forest Conservation
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,695,019
- Expenses
- $3,881,638
- Assets
- $23,499,243
- Liabilities
- $321,323
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JOSEPH FURIA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & PRESI)
Highest reported compensation
- JOSEPH FURIA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & PRESI): $289,404 total reported compensation
- SUE HILDICK (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $234,798 total reported compensation
- TIM HECOX (EXPERIENCE AND PROGRAMS DIRECTOR): $131,041 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Create and inspire champions of sustainable forestry.
What it reported doing in 2025
Public programs - we create experiences that connect the public to its interdependence with forests. The heart of this work is our discovery museum, which features information on the natural systems, structures, and cycles of forests, the history of forestry, culture and innovation, and the challenges and solutions of sustainable forestry. In 2025, we developed our first new permanent exhibit in 20 years titled, wildfire|climate|forests, as an immersive theater experience engaging the public on the intersection of wildfire and climate change. We also hosted two temporary art exhibits and associated programming leveraging art as a new entry point into the forestry conversation. We also hosted monthly outreach programs ("forest pubs"), rotating art exhibits and forest-inspired performances.
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. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 72
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 96
- Sustainability: 35
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 48.9%; rating input score 49
- Fundraising efficiency: $0.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -129%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.05; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 16.9%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 48.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $289K · 18 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 49/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 3/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.