The Garden Conservancy INC

Tax-deductible

Garrison, NY501(c)(3)Since 1989EnvironmentEIN 13-3570145

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To preserve, share, and celebrate america's gardens and diverse gardening traditions for the education and inspiration of the public.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
72¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 750 volunteers and 23 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $1.6M a year · 27% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
72%
of spending
Fine: 72% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$949K
to officers and key staff · 16% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 96% of similar orgs
Fine: pay to officers and key staff is 16% of spending; 15% to 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
8 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 7.8 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
5
named funders · $34K
Looks good: 5 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$498K
1% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 1% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
36
of 36 voting members
Looks good: 36 of 36 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$7.7M
+37% vs prior year
Spent
$5.9M
To programs
72%
Net assets
$44.4M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$7.7M
FY2025▲ +37%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$6.9M
FY2021$5.2M
FY2022$4.1M
FY2023$6.6M
FY2024$5.6M
FY2025$7.7M
Expenses
$5.9M
FY2025▲ +13%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$3.1M
FY2021$3.2M
FY2022$4.2M
FY2023$4.9M
FY2024$5.2M
FY2025$5.9M
Net assets
$44.4M
FY2025▲ +12%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$31.7M
FY2021$36.8M
FY2022$31.0M
FY2023$36.6M
FY2024$39.7M
FY2025$44.4M

From the FY2025 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Oct 1990.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

72 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 72% · $4.2M Management & general 22% · $1.3M Fundraising 7% · $391K

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

41 people listed on the 990; $949K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President & CEO
$283,907Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Operating Officer
$195,107Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Development
$130,335Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Preservation
$115,375Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Communications
$113,060Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Public Programs & Education
$110,777Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

James Brayton Hall’s $284K as President & CEO is at the 96th 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
James Brayton Hall$283,907$275,535$248,815$271,489$238,830$227,474
Donna Mortensen$195,107$193,000$171,536$181,478$164,642$156,824
Sarah Parker———$136,526$135,052$128,750
Bridget Connors$130,335$128,750$113,563———
Pamela Governale$115,375$113,750$110,721$107,491$106,355$101,450
Cliff Weathers$113,060$113,250————
Horatio Joyce$110,777—————
Patrick Macrae—————$101,450

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.

See The Garden Conservancy INC executive salaries →

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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 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Preserves and restores historic American gardens, opens private gardens to the public, and hosts educational programs celebrating diverse gardening traditions.

Provided by the organization

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1 program · $4.2M · in their own filed words · FY2025
01

Our Organizational Practices Focus on Three Main Areas

Preservation, education, and advocacy. We work to restore historic american gardens, assist private gardens in their desire to become public amenities, present educational programs for all ages relating to the history and cultural significance of gardens and gardening, and open private gardens across the nation to the public through our…

$4.2Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 5 funders$34K
See all 5 funders →
Grants paid · 44 grants · $626K · 2020–2025
Legacy HeritageAL · FY2025$10,000
Wethersfield Foundation INCNY · FY2025$10,000
Colonial Pennsylvania FarmsteadFY2025$7,500
Homegrown National Park INCFY2025$7,500
McKee Botanical Garden INCFL · FY2024$45,000
Bard CollegeNY · FY2024$21,885
Oakland Museum of CaliforniaCA · FY2024$20,000
Peckerwood Gardens Conservation Foundation INC (dba the John Fairey GardeFY2024$12,000
Boscobel Restoration INCNY · FY2024$10,000
See all 44 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$7.7M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$3.3M
Investment incomeLn 3$2.1M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$1.4M
Money outPt IX
$5.9M
Ln 25
Programscol B$4.2M
Managementcol C$1.3M
Fundraisingcol D$391K
Owns and owesPt X
$44.4M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$3.8M
Total assetsLn 16$44.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$498K
PeoplePt VI, VII
41
listed · VII A
PaidVII A6
Voting boardVI 1a36
IndependentVI 1b36
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$3.3M
Government grantsLn 1e$282K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$79K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$89K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$1.4M
Investment incomeLn 3$2.1M
Other incomeLn 4–11$807K
Gains on assetsLn 7$1.2M
Total revenueLn 12$7.7M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$172K
SavingsLn 2$3.7M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$3.8M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$40.8M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$10K
Other assetsLn 15$75K
Total assetsLn 16$44.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$498K
Net assetsLn 32$44.4M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 523
VolunteersI 6750
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$3.1M$3.8M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$36.8M$40.8M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$15K$10K
Total assetsLn 16$40.6M$44.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$937K$498K
Net assetsLn 32$39.7M$44.4M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$161K$161K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$540K$292K$137K$111K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$1.5M$1.2M$168K$132K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$53K$44K$5K$4K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$250K$199K$34K$17K
Payroll taxesLn 10$145K$107K$21K$17K
Legal feesLn 11b$95K$73K$14K$7K
Accounting feesLn 11c$237K$237K
Investment management feesLn 11f$191K$191K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$1.0M$912K$119K$12K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$15K$14K$250
Office expensesLn 13$342K$308K$19K$15K
Information technologyLn 14$505K$466K$40K
OccupancyLn 16$36K$19K$17K
TravelLn 17$291K$214K$34K$43K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$1K$1K
InterestLn 20$5K$5K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$106K$106K
InsuranceLn 23$28K$4K$23K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$254K$144K$94K$16K
All other expensesLn 24e$24K$2K$4K$18K
Total functional expensesLn 25$5.9M$4.2M$1.3M$391K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $7.7M$5.9M$1.8M$44.4M 990 PDF
FY2024 $5.6M$5.2M$440K$39.7M 990 PDF
FY2023 $6.6M$4.9M$1.6M$36.6M 990 PDF
FY2022 $4.1M$4.2M−$134K$31.0M 990 PDF
FY2021 $5.2M$3.2M$2.0M$36.8M 990 PDF
FY2020 $6.9M$3.1M$3.8M$31.7M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2025 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $7,707,472 across 13 lines filed
VIII-1b Membership dues$428,501
VIII-1c Fundraising events$88,555
VIII-1e Government grants$282,302
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$2,526,917
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$79,278
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$3,326,275
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $1,448,970$1,448,970
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $940,092$940,092
VIII-5 RoyaltiesExcluded from tax $31$31
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $1,185,228$1,185,228
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$45,827−$45,827
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $852,703$852,703
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $1,448,970 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $2,932,227$7,707,472
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $5,869,278 across 21 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $161,350$161,350
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $292,449 · Management $136,897 · Fundraising $110,860$540,206
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $1,248,362 · Management $168,101 · Fundraising $132,086$1,548,549
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $44,481 · Management $4,904 · Fundraising $3,806$53,191
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $199,079 · Management $33,713 · Fundraising $17,356$250,148
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $107,494 · Management $20,590 · Fundraising $16,505$144,589
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $73,249 · Management $13,840 · Fundraising $7,465$94,554
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $236,632$236,632
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $190,946$190,946
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $912,437 · Management $118,964 · Fundraising $11,778$1,043,179
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $14,398 · Management $250$14,648
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $308,467 · Management $18,724 · Fundraising $14,706$341,897
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $465,538 · Management $39,581$505,119
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $18,823 · Management $16,819$35,642
IX-17 TravelPrograms $214,444 · Management $33,642 · Fundraising $42,746$290,832
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $1,342$1,342
IX-20 InterestManagement $4,953$4,953
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationManagement $105,886$105,886
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $4,195 · Management $23,399$27,594
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $143,971 · Management $93,633 · Fundraising $16,293$253,897
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $2,418 · Management $3,895 · Fundraising $17,811$24,124
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $4,212,497 · Management $1,265,369 · Fundraising $391,412$5,869,278
Part X · Balance sheet $44,908,372 assets, 16 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $127,024$172,299
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $2,996,207$3,656,515
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $40,000$3,000
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $492,261$173,880
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $15,108$10,211
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $36,834,469$40,817,537
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $142,062$74,930
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $40,647,131$44,908,372
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $309,883$423,948
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $484,175$2,187
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $143,019$72,235
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $937,077$498,370
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $23,273,732$27,715,561
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $16,436,322$16,694,441
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $39,710,054$44,410,002
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $40,647,131$44,908,372
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $44,410,002 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$7,707,472
XI-2 Total expenses$5,869,278
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$1,838,194
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$39,710,054
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$2,861,754
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$44,410,002

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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