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Larkspur Conservation FY2023 filing

Tax-deductible

Nashville, TN501(c)(3)Since 2013UnclassifiedEIN 46-2657091

To preserve and restore land across Tennessee through a revival of natural burial practices that heal the earth and offer sanctuary.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
74¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$97K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2023 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
Is it a real charity?
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
Are gifts tax-deductible?
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Is it filing on time?
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 years looks good.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Is it financially stable?
4 of 6
years in the black
Worth a look: 2 of the last 6 filings show a deficit.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
How much reaches the programs?
74%
of spending
Worth a look: 74% of spending went to programs; under 75% is worth a look.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
What are leaders paid?
$97K
to officers and key staff · 15% of spending
Looks good: leaders' pay is 15% of spending; 15% or less looks good.
Pt VII · Sec A
Do they have reserves?
7 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 6.7 months of spending in cash; 3 or more looks good.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Who is supporting them already?
6
named funders · $80K
Looks good: 6 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more looks good.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Do they carry debt?
$382K
liabilities
Looks good: debts are 15% of assets; 50% or less looks good.
Pt X · Ln 26
Who oversees it?
11
independent of 11 voting board members
Looks good: 11 of 11 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodWorth a lookConcernTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$616K
+5% vs prior year
Spent
$652K
To programs
74%
Net assets
$2.2M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$616K
FY2023▲ +5%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$343K
FY2021$985K
FY2022$589K
FY2023$616K
FY2024$754K
FY2025$2.7M
Expenses
$652K
FY2023▲ +74%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$287K
FY2021$309K
FY2022$374K
FY2023$652K
FY2024$774K
FY2025$965K
Net assets
$2.2M
FY2023▲ +6%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$768K
FY2021$1.4M
FY2022$2.0M
FY2023$2.2M
FY2024$2.2M
FY2025$3.9M

From the FY2023 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Status and standing

Is it real, and can you give to it?

Tax-deductible?
Yes
Per the IRS master file.
Can I give now?
No revocation on IRS record
Not on the IRS revocation list.
Filing up to date?
Yes — filed FY2025
Legal name (IRS)Hdr · item CLarkspur Conservation
EINHdr · item D46-2657091
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
Ruling yearIRS BMFJul 2014
Year of formationHdr · item L2013
Latest filingForm 990FY2025 · Form 990
Principal addressHdr · item CNashville, TN
NTEE classificationIRS BMFUnclassified (Z99)
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.larkspurconservation.org

Where the money goes

What each dollar paid for.

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.74 Management & general $0.18 Fundraising $0.09
Program services74%$481K
Management & general18%$115K
Fundraising9%$56K
Total functional expensesLn 25$652K

Financial health

Is it on solid ground?

Program efficiency
74%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
11.2mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
-6%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2023 · Form 990
Total assets
$2.5M
FY2023▲ +9%
Total assets by fiscal year
FY2020$966K
FY2021$1.7M
FY2022$2.3M
FY2023$2.5M
FY2024$3.1M
FY2025$4.9M
Total liabilities
$382K
FY2023▲ +31%
Total liabilities by fiscal year
FY2020$198K
FY2021$266K
FY2022$292K
FY2023$382K
FY2024$897K
FY2025$979K
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$36K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$2.5M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B74%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 311
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 411

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$365K
Total assetsLn 16$2.5M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$382K
Total net assetsLn 32$2.2M
Months of cash on handcomputed6.7

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue$394K · 64%
Contributions & grants$172K · 28%
Other revenue$48K · 8%
Program service revenue64%$394K
Contributions & grants28%$172K
Other revenue8%$48K
Investment income$2K
Total revenueLn 12$616K

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2023 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $608K · Operating expenses/yr $652K
11.2 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $481K · Total expenses $652K
74%
Management & General
Management & general $115K · Total expenses $652K
18%
Fundraising
Fundraising $56K · Total expenses $652K
9%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $24K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $356K
$0.07 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $172K · Total revenue $616K
28%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $616K
—
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $394K · Total revenue $616K
64%
Investment reliance
Investment income $2K · Total revenue $616K
+0.3%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $394K · Total expenses $652K
60%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $616K · Prior year $589K
+5%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $2.2M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $616K · Expenses $652K
-6%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $2.5M
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $2.2M · Total assets $2.5M
85%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $243K · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $2.5M
10%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual John Christian Phifer · Reported title Executive Dir. · Highest reported compensation $97K · Total expenses $652K
15%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $357K · Total expenses $652K
55%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 74%——
Overhead ratio 18%——
Fundraising cost ratio 33%——
Revenue growth 5%——
Investment management fee ratio 0%——
Legal fee ratio 0%——
Accounting fee ratio 1%——
Fundraising fee ratio 0%——

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Leadership and pay

Who runs it, and what are they paid?

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
John Christian Phifer
Executive Dir.
$96,880Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Jason Dinger
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Tara Armistead
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Nathan Greene
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Kim Bailey
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
John Stone
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
John Christian Phifer$112,151$110,000$96,880—$85,058$83,200
John Christian Phifer———$93,756——

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 Larkspur Conservation executive salaries →

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Governance & Policies

Part VI
  • 11Voting board membersPt VI · Ln 1a
  • 11Independent board membersPt VI · Ln 1b
  • Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aNo
  • Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
  • Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
  • Top official’s pay independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aNo
  • Family or business ties among leadersPt VI · Ln 2No

Mission and programs

What it does.

Promotes natural burial in nature preserves, using proceeds for perpetual land management.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Larkspur Conservation claims this page.

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

2 program services account for $481K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2023.
01

Burial sales in natural burial cemetery.

$402Kprogram expense
02

Handling natural resource management on land for burial services.

$78Kprogram expense

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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 · FY2024
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFY2024$32K
Champions of Love Foundation INCFY2024$26K
Cencora Impact FoundationFY2024$10K
The Williamson Martin & Brooke Family FoundationFY2024$10K
Msb Cockayne Fund INCFY2024$2K
Assurant FoundationFY2024$25
Total grants receivedfrom 6 funders$80K
See all 6 funders →

Filing history

Every return on file.

YearRevenueExpensesChangeFiling
FY2025 Latest $2.7M$965K+258% 990 PDF
FY2024 $754K$774K+22% 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $616K$652K+5% 990 PDF
FY2022 $589K$374K-40% 990 PDF
FY2021 $985K$309K+187% 990 PDF
FY2020 $343K$287K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash

Full filing: Form 990 for FY2023

Every line we hold from the return, cited to its Part and line.
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $651,958 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $63,940 · Management $22,282 · Fundraising $10,658$96,880
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $145,332 · Management $51,729 · Fundraising $25,172$222,233
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $6,286 · Management $4,959 · Fundraising $2,356$13,601
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $17,960 · Management $3,831 · Fundraising $2,155$23,946
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $7,758$7,758
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11e Professional fundraising fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $10,562 · Management $2,640 · Fundraising $1,054$14,256
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $28,632 · Fundraising $3,181$31,813
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $9,828 · Management $771 · Fundraising $43$10,642
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $10,651$10,651
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $72,282 · Management $14,711 · Fundraising $8,223$95,216
IX-17 TravelPrograms $2,259 · Management $282 · Fundraising $282$2,823
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 InterestManagement $1,528$1,528
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $15,772$15,772
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $9,663 · Management $2,061 · Fundraising $1,159$12,883
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $87,590 · Management $2,617 · Fundraising $1,749$91,956
IX-24e All other expenses$0
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $480,757 · Management $115,169 · Fundraising $56,032$651,958

Not shown yet: ratings, outcomes, and peer benchmarks. A Form 990 doesn’t report them.

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2023IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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