Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 1965.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
82 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
21 people listed on the 990; $647K paid to officers and key staff.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin McAleese | $200,000 | $192,509 | $192,528 | $168,084 | $162,210 | $147,941 |
| Heidi Peterson | $170,195 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Heidi Peterson PHD | — | $161,014 | $163,694 | $153,777 | $144,287 | $131,370 |
| Timothy Male PHD | — | — | $135,366 | $155,013 | $133,976 | $127,177 |
| Chris Schellpfeffer | — | — | $142,775 | — | — | — |
| Christina Schellpfeffer | $139,533 | $133,514 | — | $133,983 | $123,177 | $119,710 |
| Lance Irving | $132,295 | $126,924 | $128,917 | $126,088 | $120,822 | — |
| Kemper Durand | — | — | — | $127,665 | $121,381 | $120,416 |
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 Sand County Foundation 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
Inspires and enables private landowners to ethically manage natural resources through conservation programs and the prestigious Leopold Conservation Award.
Questions for The Sand County Foundation INC
Your first name shows with your question. The Sand County Foundation INC answers here, for everyone.
Agricultural Conservation
The foundation's agricultural conservation program demonstrates land management practices that protect soil and water, utilize them more efficiently, and maximize the environmental benefits and productive capacity of agricultural systems.
Leopold Conservation Award
The leopold conservation award recognizes farmers, ranchers and foresters for achievements in conservation on working land. With prominent partners in many states across the U.S., the foundation presents the annual awards in settings that showcase the landowners' conservation success among their peers.
Conservation Policy and Influence
Through its conservation policy initiative, the foundation uses some of the same principles from its body of work to build and support ecosystem-scale species conservation models, greater access to safe drinking water supplies, and better use of data technology to achieve ecosystem restoration.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
Federal money
Plus 2 smaller programs.
The auditor reported no findings.
Plus 3 smaller programs.
The auditor reported no findings.
Plus 3 smaller programs.
The auditor reported no findings.
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | FY23 | FY22 | FY21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $8.0M | $9.9M | $10.5M | $8.9M | $11.1M |
| Given inLn 1b | $1.0M | ||||
| SpentLn 1d–1f | $2.9M | $1.8M | $913K | $40K | $360K |
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $905K | $648K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $10.8M | $11.1M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $0 | $0 |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $12.9M | $13.7M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $558K | $1.2M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $12.4M | $12.5M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $913K | $913K | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $213K | $213K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $410K | $302K | $78K | $30K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.3M | $986K | $234K | $97K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $40K | $30K | $7K | $3K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $386K | $288K | $70K | $28K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $131K | $98K | $24K | $10K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $2K | $2K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $93K | $93K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $43K | $43K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $863K | $796K | $67K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $3K | $2K | $194 | $106 |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $97K | $83K | $11K | $4K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $27K | $19K | $6K | $1K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $66K | $46K | $17K | $3K |
| TravelLn 17 | $119K | $103K | $12K | $4K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $135K | $97K | $38K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $15K | $10K | $4K | $722 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $29K | $26K | $2K | $1K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $4.9M | $4.0M | $706K | $183K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Aug 11, 2026 | $4.2M | $4.9M | −$736K | $12.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Sep 2, 2025 | $4.1M | $9.6M | −$5.5M | $12.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Aug 27, 2024 | $7.3M | $7.5M | −$209K | $16.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Oct 5, 2023 | $9.6M | $6.6M | $3.0M | $15.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Oct 5, 2022 | $6.2M | $3.7M | $2.4M | $15.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Oct 12, 2021 | $3.3M | $3.0M | $334K | $12.0M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $4,164,829 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 15 of 16 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $4,164,829 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $4,900,884 across 19 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $13,721,514 assets, 18 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $12,543,921 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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