Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in May 2002.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
62 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
23 people listed on the 990; $302K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Andrew Goldman-Gray’s $103K as Upstream Director is at the 31st 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Goldman-Gray | $103,144 | $101,725 | $169,020 | — | — |
| Paul Austin | $97,535 | $91,190 | $138,907 | $131,080 | $107,307 |
| Nels P Paulsen | $101,725 | $101,708 | $104,989 | — | — |
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 Conservation Minnesota 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
Advocates for conservation, providing information to guide family, community, and future decisions.
Questions for Conservation Minnesota
Your first name shows with your question. Conservation Minnesota answers here, for everyone.
Public Engagement
Conservation minnesota is guided by the priorities of minnesotans and engages its statewide network of over 70,000 individuals and local leaders with meaningful opportunities to help solve the conservation issues that they tell us are most important.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2024. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 41-2017329) · Dispute this linePublic Education
Conservation minnesota provides credible, non-partisan information about current and emerging issues that affect public health, water quality, and minnesota's great outdoors so that individual minnesotans can make informed decisions that protect our health and natural resources.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2024. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 41-2017329) · Dispute this linePublic Policy
Conservation minnesota develops and advocates for public policies that ensure our cherished minnesota lakes, lands and way of life are protected for the benefit of current and future generations.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2024. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 41-2017329) · Dispute this lineFunders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $234K | $517K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $10K | $0 |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.1M | $776K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $268K | $219K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $851K | $557K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $107K | $107K | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $153K | $153K | ||
| Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5 | $135K | $73K | $34K | $28K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.1M | $644K | $252K | $165K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $46K | $27K | $11K | $8K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $118K | $112K | $6K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $101K | $54K | $33K | $14K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $21K | $45 | $21K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $83K | $83K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $33K | $33K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $36K | $1K | $28K | $7K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $6K | $5K | $949 | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $133K | $57K | $24K | $51K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $84K | $45K | $37K | $2K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $84K | $44K | $40K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $17K | $15K | $963 | $707 |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $7K | $6K | $635 | $19 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $10K | $10K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $7K | $7K | $75 | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $40K | $40K | $116 | $126 |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $20K | $3K | $16K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $2.3M | $1.4M | $598K | $276K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS May 13, 2026 | $2.0M | $2.3M | −$294K | $557K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS May 15, 2025 | $3.2M | $3.2M | $17K | $851K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS May 7, 2024 | $2.8M | $3.1M | −$287K | $834K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS May 1, 2023 | $2.7M | $3.0M | −$299K | $1.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 8, 2021 | $2.4M | $1.7M | $622K | $1.4M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990
Part I · Summary $2,005,077 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 20 of 20 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,005,077 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,298,981 across 21 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $775,611 assets, 13 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $557,031 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file FY2025 from the IRS (about our sources) · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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