Minnesota Land Trust

Tax-deductible

Saint Paul, MN501(c)(3)Since 1991EnvironmentEIN 41-1713652Revenue $25.8M in FY2025

On file with the IRSmnland.org2356 University Ave W Ste 240, 55114-1851 · Saint Paul, MNTax-exempt since Mar 1992Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

This page gets seen. Tell your story. Claim this org.

The Minnesota Land Trust protects and restores minnesota's most vital natural lands in order to provide wildlife habitat, clean water, outdoor experiences and scenic beauty for generations to come. We achieve this mission through our Land conservation program, which has three elements: Land protection to conserve minnesota's iconic landscapes, primarily through conservation easements; ecological restoration to improve the state's wildlife habitats; and public engagement to ensure that the future generations can experience the outdoors and support conservation.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
89¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 95 volunteers and 25 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
6 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $1.7M a year · 9% of revenue · last 6 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 6 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
89%
of spending
Looks good: 89% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$958K
to officers and key staff · 4% of spending
Top officer’s pay lower than 69% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 4% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
<1 mo
of spending, in cash
Worth a look: 0.7 months of spending in cash; under 1.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $28K
Looks good: 3 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$2.6M
10% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 10% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
24
of 24 voting members
Looks good: 24 of 24 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$25.8M
+27% vs prior year
Spent
$21.4M
To programs
89%
Net assets
$24.1M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$25.8M
FY2025▲ +27%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$10.1M
FY2021$17.9M
FY2022$12.3M
FY2023$18.9M
FY2024$20.3M
FY2025$25.8M
Expenses
$21.4M
FY2025▲ +11%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$7.9M
FY2021$16.3M
FY2022$12.0M
FY2023$18.6M
FY2024$19.4M
FY2025$21.4M
Net assets
$24.1M
FY2025▲ +33%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$12.6M
FY2021$16.2M
FY2022$14.6M
FY2023$15.9M
FY2024$18.2M
FY2025$24.1M

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending June 2025) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 1992.

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

Where the money goes

89 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 89% · $19.1M Management & general 7% · $1.4M Fundraising 4% · $856K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Something off? The org can add a note here. Claim this org to fix it.

Who runs it and what they're paid

31 people listed on the 990; $958K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
$198,523Pt VII · Sec A
General Counsel
$148,337Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Finance and Op
$145,627Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Land Protection
$132,458Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Restoration Programs
$124,720Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Development and Comms
$106,651Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Stewardship
$101,442Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Kris William Larson’s $199K as CEO is at the 31st percentile of top reported officer pay among 324 $10–100M 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
Kris William Larson$198,523$192,740$170,931$147,778$139,124$130,921
Jennifer Scholl——$151,817———
Amy Schwarz$148,337$134,612————
Claire Colliander$145,627$146,238$132,579———
Wayne Ostlie$132,458$123,292————
Daryl Peterson$124,720$117,043————
Adam Breininger$106,651—————
Andrew Moe$101,442—————

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 Minnesota Land Trust executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Something off? The org can add a note here. Claim this org to fix it.

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

Protects and restores Minnesota's natural lands for wildlife, clean water, and outdoor experiences.

Questions for Minnesota Land Trust

Tap to ask. Minnesota Land Trust sees how many people are interested.

Your first name shows with your question. Minnesota Land Trust answers here, for everyone.

Provided by the organization

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

1 program · $19.1M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

The minnesota land trust engages in three primary strategies to accomplish its mission. Protect: protect important natural habitats through conservation easements and fee title transactions. Restore: partner with governmental entities on recovering the ecological functions of the ST.

$19.1Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
EcotrustFY2025$25K
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$28K
See all 3 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$25.8M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$25.3M
Investment incomeLn 3$514K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$35K
Money outPt IX
$21.4M
Ln 25
Programscol B$19.1M
Managementcol C$1.4M
Fundraisingcol D$856K
Owns and owesPt X
$24.1M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.3M
Total assetsLn 16$26.8M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2.6M
PeoplePt VI, VII
31
listed · VII A
PaidVII A7
Voting boardVI 1a24
IndependentVI 1b24
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$25.3M
Government grantsLn 1e$19.3M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$3.0M
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$498K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$35K
Investment incomeLn 3$514K
Other incomeLn 4–11$1K
Gains on assetsLn 7$81K
Total revenueLn 12$25.8M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$671K
SavingsLn 2$585K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$1.3M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$18.2M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$137K
Other assetsLn 15$1.8M
Total assetsLn 16$26.8M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2.6M
Net assetsLn 32$24.1M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 525
VolunteersI 695
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
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$716K$1.3M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$15.7M$18.2M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$169K$137K
Total assetsLn 16$19.2M$26.8M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.0M$2.6M
Net assetsLn 32$18.2M$24.1M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$25K$25K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$370K$52K$235K$83K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$3.0M$2.1M$630K$337K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$54K$37K$11K$6K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$378K$217K$120K$41K
Payroll taxesLn 10$256K$160K$64K$32K
Accounting feesLn 11c$27K$27K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$44K$154$44K
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$21K$21K
Investment management feesLn 11f$31K$31K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$216K$2K$87K$127K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$27K$27K
Office expensesLn 13$125K$25K$15K$84K
Information technologyLn 14$138K$64K$29K$45K
OccupancyLn 16$173K$116K$36K$21K
TravelLn 17$108K$98K$5K$6K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$23K$5K$12K$5K
InterestLn 20$18K$18K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$3K$2K$633$264
InsuranceLn 23$67K$59K$5K$3K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$16.3M$16.2M$63K$8K
All other expensesLn 24e$22K$397$13K$9K
Total functional expensesLn 25$21.4M$19.1M$1.4M$856K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $25.8M$21.4M$4.4M$24.1M 990 PDF
FY2024 $20.3M$19.4M$931K$18.2M 990 PDF
FY2023 $18.9M$18.6M$345K$15.9M 990 PDF
FY2022 $12.3M$12.0M$354K$14.6M 990 PDF
FY2021 $17.9M$16.3M$1.6M$16.2M 990 PDF
FY2020 $10.1M$7.9M$2.3M$12.6M 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

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 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $25,825,253 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $19,847,235$25,275,122
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $34,654$35,175
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $399,379$513,901
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $7,600$1,055
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $20,288,868$25,825,253
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $36,240$24,930
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $3,682,774$4,086,036
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$21,441
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $15,638,554$17,301,068
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $19,357,568$21,433,475
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $931,300$4,391,778
Part VI · Governance 24 of 24 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body24
VI-1b Independent voting members24
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $25,825,253 across 10 lines filed
VIII-1c Fundraising events$498,171
VIII-1e Government grants$19,253,773
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$5,523,178
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$3,011,058
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$25,275,122
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $35,175$35,175
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $433,366$433,366
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $80,535$80,535
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax $1,055$1,055
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $35,175 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $514,956$25,825,253
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $21,433,475 across 22 lines filed
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $24,930$24,930
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $51,907 · Management $235,104 · Fundraising $83,345$370,356
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $2,060,423 · Management $629,962 · Fundraising $337,179$3,027,564
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $37,080 · Management $11,366 · Fundraising $5,642$54,088
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $216,988 · Management $120,268 · Fundraising $40,573$377,829
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $160,104 · Management $64,343 · Fundraising $31,752$256,199
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $26,525$26,525
IX-11d Lobbying feesPrograms $154 · Management $43,707$43,861
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $21,441$21,441
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $31,188$31,188
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $2,323 · Management $86,923 · Fundraising $126,847$216,093
IX-12 Advertising and promotionFundraising $27,244$27,244
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $25,076 · Management $15,351 · Fundraising $84,308$124,735
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $63,854 · Management $28,918 · Fundraising $45,499$138,271
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $115,749 · Management $36,279 · Fundraising $20,731$172,759
IX-17 TravelPrograms $97,532 · Management $4,598 · Fundraising $6,244$108,374
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $5,395 · Management $12,331 · Fundraising $4,831$22,557
IX-20 InterestManagement $18,101$18,101
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $2,020 · Management $633 · Fundraising $264$2,917
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $58,781 · Management $5,499 · Fundraising $3,142$67,422
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $16,207,981 · Management $62,871 · Fundraising $7,929$16,278,781
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $397 · Management $12,716 · Fundraising $9,127$22,240
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $19,130,694 · Management $1,446,683 · Fundraising $856,098$21,433,475
Part X · Balance sheet $26,759,235 assets, 17 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $297,940$670,577
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $417,628$585,444
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $127,380$2,928,532
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $2,198,416$2,441,793
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $48,643$47,927
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $168,997$136,722
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $15,677,193$18,155,110
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $244,584$1,793,130
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $19,180,781$26,759,235
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $742,616$848,935
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $14,809$13,900
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $248,010$1,750,951
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $1,005,435$2,613,786
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $8,166,124$13,615,576
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $10,009,222$10,529,873
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $18,175,346$24,145,449
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $19,180,781$26,759,235
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $24,145,449 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$25,825,253
XI-2 Total expenses$21,433,475
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$4,391,778
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$18,175,346
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$1,578,325
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$24,145,449

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

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.