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
74 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
35 people listed on the 990; $716K paid to officers and key staff.
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
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 →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.
Questions for The Garden Conservancy INC
Your first name shows with your question. The Garden Conservancy INC answers here, for everyone.
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…
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 | FY20 | FY19 | FY18 | FY17 | FY16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $29.5M | $24.3M | $19.9M | $20.9M | $18.1M |
| Given inLn 1b | $2.8M | $30K | $53K | $5K | $103K |
| SpentLn 1d–1f | $923K | $904K | $940K | $922K | $925K |
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.9M | $3.4M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $24.2M | $28.6M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $58K | $39K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $26.3M | $32.4M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $248K | $662K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $26.1M | $31.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $22K | $22K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $434K | $235K | $110K | $89K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.3M | $1.0M | $126K | $113K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $52K | $42K | $4K | $6K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $218K | $189K | $27K | $2K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $112K | $85K | $13K | $14K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $13K | $5K | $8K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $32K | $32K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $117K | $117K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $262K | $236K | $23K | $3K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $8K | $8K | $95 | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $264K | $241K | $2K | $20K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $61K | $44K | $18K | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $121K | $99K | $14K | $9K |
| TravelLn 17 | $48K | $22K | $14K | $13K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $10K | $6K | $4K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $18K | $15K | $2K | $1K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $19K | $12K | $6K | $665 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $56K | $35K | $11K | $10K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $999 | $204 | $648 | $147 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $3.1M | $2.3M | $531K | $280K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS May 6, 2026 | $7.7M | $5.9M | $1.8M | $44.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Oct 6, 2025 | $5.6M | $5.2M | $440K | $39.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS May 15, 2024 | $6.6M | $4.9M | $1.6M | $36.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 13, 2023 | $4.1M | $4.2M | −$134K | $31.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Jul 18, 2022 | $5.2M | $3.2M | $2.0M | $36.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Aug 3, 2021 | $6.9M | $3.1M | $3.8M | $31.7M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $6,906,408 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 30 of 30 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $6,906,408 across 12 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,120,850 across 20 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $32,369,418 assets, 16 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $31,707,115 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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