Forest Trends works to drive innovation in environmental finance to support resilient ecosystems and communities. Through its core initiatives-including Forest policy, trade & finance, water, and communities-Forest Trends develops data, (continued on schedule o)tools, and partnerships that promote sustainable resource management, strengthen local and indigenous land rights, and support market-based solutions to environmental challenges. These programs collectively advance policy development, improve transparency in supply chains, and expand financing mechanisms for conservation and sustainable livelihoods.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
80¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$1.9M 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
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
3 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $72K a year · under 1% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
80%
of spending
Looks good: 80% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.9M
to officers and key staff · 17% of spending
Fine: pay to officers and key staff is 17% of spending; 15% to 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
4 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 3.9 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
14
named funders · $992K
Looks good: 14 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$4.1M
36% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 36% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
15
of 17 voting members
Looks good: 15 of 17 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$12.3M
+25% vs prior year
Spent
$11.2M
To programs
80%
Net assets
$7.3M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$12.3M
FY2023▲ +25%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$11.9M
FY2021$17.0M
FY2022$9.9M
FY2023$12.3M
FY2024$11.1M
FY2025$6.0M
Expenses
$11.2M
FY2023▼ -8%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$11.9M
FY2021$11.7M
FY2022$12.1M
FY2023$11.2M
FY2024$12.4M
FY2025$8.6M
Net assets
$7.3M
FY2023▲ +19%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$3.0M
FY2021$8.4M
FY2022$6.2M
FY2023$7.3M
FY2024$6.0M
FY2025$3.4M

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) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 1999.

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

Where the money goes

80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 80% · $8.9M Management & general 20% · $2.2M Fundraising 1% · $65K

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

25 people listed on the 990; $1.9M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President & CEO
$356,026Pt VII · Sec A
$235,960Pt VII · Sec A
Director, Em
$197,350Pt VII · Sec A
Director, Fptf
$177,666Pt VII · Sec A
Director, Communities
$166,977Pt VII · Sec A
$162,600Pt VII · Sec A
Director, Communications
$158,829Pt VII · Sec A
Director, Water Initative
$154,055Pt VII · Sec A

Michael Jenkins’s $287K as President & CEO is at the 96th 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Michael Jenkins$286,520$373,056$356,026$330,802$325,882$318,730
Oly Bracho$262,816$271,698$235,960$229,618$220,228$222,075
Phuc Xuan$250,839—————
Phuc Xhuan—$221,523————
Stephen Donofrio——$197,350$209,389$188,901—
Kerstin Canby$180,983$198,791$177,666$185,215$184,467$180,000
Jose Borges$189,327$190,240$166,977$165,864$163,481$161,064
Gena Gammie$178,420$184,075$154,055$140,937$130,563$123,551

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 Forest Trends Association executive salaries →

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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

Supports indigenous communities to secure land rights, manage forests, and improve livelihoods.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $6.8M · in their own filed words · FY2023
01

Water

Recognizing the multiple values, including supplies of clean water, which forests provide to people, forest trends has worked from inception to promote the use of incentives and market-based instruments to protect and sustainably manage watershed services.

$3.2Mprogram expense
02

Forest Policy, Trade and Finance

The forest policy, trade and finance initiative was created in the early 2000s when the organization realized that emerging markets for ecosystem services and products were continuing to be undermined by cheap and illegal forest products.

$2.1Mprogram expense
03

Communities Initiative

The communities initiative is one of the first initiatives of forest trends. The initial focus was on research and publications to promote communities' FOREST/LAND tenure. In 2006 we transitioned to our current approach of working directly with local communities to strengthen their capacity to secure and manage their traditional forest…

$1.4Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
See all 14 funders →
Grants paid · 1 grant · $297K · 2025–2025
The Katoomba Group INCDC · FY2025$297,296

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$12.3M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$12.2M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$60K
Investment incomeLn 3$42K
Money outPt IX
$11.2M
Ln 25
Programscol B$8.9M
Managementcol C$2.2M
Fundraisingcol D$65K
Owns and owesPt X
$7.3M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$3.7M
Total assetsLn 16$11.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$4.1M
PeoplePt VI, VII
25
listed · VII A
PaidVII A10
Voting boardVI 1a17
IndependentVI 1b15
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$12.2M
Government grantsLn 1e$5.5M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$22K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$60K
Investment incomeLn 3$42K
Other incomeLn 4–11$7K
Gains on assetsLn 7$15
Total revenueLn 12$12.3M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$368K
SavingsLn 2$3.3M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$3.7M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$29K
Other assetsLn 15$2.7M
Total assetsLn 16$11.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$4.1M
Net assetsLn 32$7.3M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 520
VolunteersI 616
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
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 FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$3.1M$3.7M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$48K$29K
Total assetsLn 16$10.3M$11.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$4.1M$4.1M
Net assetsLn 32$6.2M$7.3M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$791K$791K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$1.9M$1.4M$510K$50K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$2.2M$1.8M$344K$899
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$118K$97K$19K$2K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$390K$318K$68K$3K
Payroll taxesLn 10$225K$177K$46K$3K
Legal feesLn 11b$47K$41K$6K
Accounting feesLn 11c$111K$96K$15K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$3.8M$3.3M$479K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$64$24$40
Office expensesLn 13$84K$32K$52K$18
Information technologyLn 14$432K$252K$180K
OccupancyLn 16$338K$128K$210K$72
TravelLn 17$291K$213K$71K$7K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$269K$188K$81K
InterestLn 20$17K$6K$10K$4
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$19K$7K$12K$4
InsuranceLn 23$48K$18K$30K$10
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$101K$43K$58K$19
Total functional expensesLn 25$11.2M$8.9M$2.2M$65K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $6.0M$8.6M−$2.6M$3.4M 990 PDF
FY2024 $11.1M$12.4M−$1.3M$6.0M 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $12.3M$11.2M$1.1M$7.3M 990 PDF
FY2022 $9.9M$12.1M−$2.3M$6.2M 990 PDF
FY2021 $17.0M$11.7M$5.4M$8.4M 990 PDF
FY2020 $11.9M$11.9M$42K$3.0M 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
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $12,349,215 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $9,884,351$12,241,112
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$60,000
I-10 Investment incomePrior year −$98$41,503
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $8,525$6,600
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $9,892,778$12,349,215
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $1,680,591$791,227
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $5,217,052$4,860,432
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $5,251,739$5,550,274
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $12,149,382$11,201,933
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$2,256,604$1,147,282
Part VI · Governance 15 of 17 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body17
VI-1b Independent voting members15
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 $12,349,215 across 9 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$5,520,521
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$6,720,591
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$21,523
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$12,241,112
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $60,000$60,000
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $41,488$41,488
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $15$15
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $6,600$6,600
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $60,000 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $48,103$12,349,215
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $11,201,933 across 19 lines filed
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $791,227$791,227
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $1,374,724 · Management $510,419 · Fundraising $49,795$1,934,938
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $1,847,304 · Management $343,805 · Fundraising $899$2,192,008
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $97,287 · Management $18,959 · Fundraising $2,250$118,496
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $318,469 · Management $68,494 · Fundraising $2,718$389,681
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $176,829 · Management $45,774 · Fundraising $2,706$225,309
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $40,538 · Management $6,210$46,748
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $96,133 · Management $14,726$110,859
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $3,314,514 · Management $478,783$3,793,297
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $24 · Management $40$64
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $31,835 · Management $52,347 · Fundraising $18$84,200
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $252,027 · Management $179,778$431,805
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $127,761 · Management $210,073 · Fundraising $72$337,906
IX-17 TravelPrograms $213,289 · Management $70,627 · Fundraising $6,929$290,845
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $187,820 · Management $81,472$269,292
IX-20 InterestPrograms $6,316 · Management $10,386 · Fundraising $4$16,706
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $7,294 · Management $11,993 · Fundraising $4$19,291
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $18,223 · Management $29,963 · Fundraising $10$48,196
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $42,906 · Management $58,140 · Fundraising $19$101,065
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $8,944,520 · Management $2,191,989 · Fundraising $65,424$11,201,933
Part X · Balance sheet $11,367,968 assets, 15 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $2,244,689$368,068
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $810,106$3,298,994
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $4,336,639$4,936,003
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $11,780$36,534
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $18,178$18,472
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $48,229$28,938
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $2,812,869$2,680,959
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $10,282,490$11,367,968
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $894,808$835,792
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $3,093,635$3,094,467
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $4,129,716$4,067,912
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $44,734$665,103
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $6,108,040$6,634,953
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $6,152,774$7,300,056
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $10,282,490$11,367,968
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $7,300,056 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$12,349,215
XI-2 Total expenses$11,201,933
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$1,147,282
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$6,152,774
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$7,300,056

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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