Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Aug 2006.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
81 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
14 people listed on the 990; $412K paid to officers and key staff.
Margaret Boeger’s $136K as Executive Director is at the 56th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1851 $1–10M environment nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elisabeth Micheli PHD | — | $204,566 | $204,566 | $180,250 | $180,250 | $175,000 |
| Margaret Boeger | $136,213 | $88,902 | — | — | — | — |
| Margaret Shurgot | — | — | — | — | — | $129,701 |
| Zachary Winter | $126,666 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dr Tosha Comendant | — | — | $120,207 | $111,650 | $111,650 | $107,311 |
| Michael Gillogly | — | — | $112,094 | — | — | — |
| Sloane Chinn | $106,429 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Gwynne Corrigan | — | — | $104,899 | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Inspires conservation through science by offering public engagement opportunities for families and scientists.
Questions for Pepperwood Foundation
Your first name shows with your question. Pepperwood Foundation answers here, for everyone.
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Research, Citizen Science, and Conservation
Pepperwood is a permanently protected 3,117 acre nature preserve located in Sonoma County. The preserve serves as a field site for cutting-edge university research and leads ground-based habitat and watershed restoration programs in concert with dedicated citizen scientists.
Environmental Education and Outreach
Pepperwood's 3,117 acre nature preserve serves over 10,000 visitors annually via a comprehensive environmental education program for adults, youth, and families in partnership with local school districts and the Santa Rosa Junior College.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.1M | $2.4M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $3.3M | $4.9M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $19.5M | $21.8M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $24.3M | $29.4M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $197K | $370K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $24.1M | $29.0M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $176K | $141K | $14K | $22K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.2M | $925K | $91K | $142K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $40K | $36K | $2K | $2K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $146K | $128K | $9K | $10K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $100K | $79K | $9K | $12K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $14K | $10K | $2K | $2K |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $295K | $219K | $40K | $36K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $11K | $9K | $1K | $427 |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $118K | $87K | $11K | $20K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $6K | $5K | $666 | $321 |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $41K | $38K | $1K | $2K |
| TravelLn 17 | $4K | $3K | $482 | $95 |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $511 | $435 | $56 | $20 |
| InterestLn 20 | $178 | $178 | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $372K | $303K | $29K | $39K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $147K | $132K | $6K | $9K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $154K | $134K | $11K | $9K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $16K | $13K | $1K | $2K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $2.8M | $2.3M | $229K | $307K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $3.6M | $4.2M | −$583K | $35.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $5.3M | $4.6M | $685K | $35.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $2.9M | $4.0M | −$1.1M | $32.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $3.3M | $3.8M | −$468K | $33.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $6.7M | $3.0M | $3.7M | $34.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $7.5M | $2.8M | $4.7M | $29.0M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $7,523,837 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 12 of 12 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $7,523,837 across 12 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,798,202 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $29,393,535 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $29,023,576 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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