Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Apr 1973.
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
26 people listed on the 990; $295K paid to officers and key staff.
Brook McDonald’s $228K as President/CEO is at the 89th 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brook McDonald | $228,252 | $196,841 | $198,931 | $190,859 | $190,859 | $177,036 |
| John McCracken | $117,362 | $112,675 | $108,309 | $104,301 | — | — |
| Stephen McCracken | — | — | — | — | $104,301 | — |
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 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Preserves natural areas, protects rivers, and promotes environmental stewardship.
Questions for Conservation Foundation
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Acquired two connector properties in reservation woods in kendall county, regarded as the county's most beautiful and ecologically significant woods. Provide professional staffing to 3 local watershed groups that work to protect the stream resource quality for 1.6 million people residing in the salt creek, dupage and des plaines river…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.9M | $1.8M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $5.0M | $5.1M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $7.7M | $8.0M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $559K | $638K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $7.1M | $7.4M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $211K | $173K | $17K | $20K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.3M | $1.1M | $106K | $127K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $14K | $12K | $1K | $1K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $104K | $86K | $8K | $10K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $102K | $84K | $8K | $10K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $27K | $23K | $485 | $4K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $16K | $13K | $281 | $2K |
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $9K | $9K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $31K | $26K | $550 | $4K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $49K | $11K | $348 | $37K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $35K | $27K | $4K | $5K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $32K | $24K | $3K | $4K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $16K | $12K | $2K | $2K |
| TravelLn 17 | $11K | $10K | $557 | $1K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $8K | $7K | $369 | $719 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $62K | $61K | $1K | $176 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $24K | $20K | $2K | $2K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $122K | $109K | $4K | $9K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $4K | $3K | $453 | $615 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $2.2M | $1.8M | $167K | $241K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $7.5M | $4.0M | $3.5M | $14.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $4.1M | $3.5M | $532K | $10.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $5.7M | $3.5M | $2.2M | $10.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $3.4M | $2.8M | $573K | $7.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $2.3M | $2.2M | $100K | $7.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $4.1M | $3.4M | $694K | $7.1M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,286,882 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 24 of 24 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,286,882 across 12 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,186,674 across 19 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $8,017,488 assets, 14 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $7,379,918 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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