Upstate Forever EIN 57-1070433

Upstate Forever

EIN  57-1070433 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Greenville, SC
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 8/26/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Protects critical lands, waters, and the unique character of Upstate South Carolina.
Leadership
Aldon Knight · Executive Di · $134K
Money in and out
$4.0M revenue, $4.4M expenses
Bottom line
82% program efficiency

Protects critical lands, waters, and the unique character of Upstate South Carolina. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $4.0M in revenue, $4.4M in expenses, and $9.3M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$4.0M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$4.4M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$9.3M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$466K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.82 Management & general $0.06 Fundraising $0.12
Program efficiency
82%
of spending reaches programs▲ +7% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
21.9mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -33% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-12%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -138% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$4.0M
FY2024▼ -13%
Expenses
$4.4M
FY2024▲ +40%
Total assets
$9.4M
FY20240%
Total liabilities
$155K
FY2024▲ +90%
Total revenue
$4.0M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$4.4M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$9.3M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$466K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$9.4M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B82%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 316
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 416
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $2.8M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

The upstate forever land conservation program is accredited by the land trust accreditation commission and has protected 32,102 acres through 171 conservation easements in the upstate of south carolina. 30% of the easements provide public access and 24% are working farms.

$2.2Mprogram expense
02

In 2024, the clean water program collaborated with drinking water utilities as well as local, state and federal partners to install a variety of best management practices to reduce water pollution and permanently protect land in the tyger river watershed in greenville and spartanburg counties and the three and twenty creek watershed in…

$378Kprogram expense
03

In 2024, land planning and policy staff engaged with local elected and appointed officials and government staff on issues related to smarter land development, with a primary focus on advancing policies that implement city and county comprehensive plans.

$280Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CUpstate Forever
EINHdr · item D57-1070433
Principal addressHdr · item CGreenville, SC
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.upstateforever.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MSC
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFEnvironment (C013)
Ruling yearIRS BMFDec 1998

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a16
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b16
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Di
$133,765Pt VII · Sec A
Deputy Direc
$102,875Pt VII · Sec A
Financial Di
$96,538Pt VII · Sec A
Exec Dir Jan
$39,591Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Aldon Knight’s $134K as Executive Di is at the 55th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1843 $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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Aldon Knight$133,765$124,545
Andrea Cooper$39,591$128,401$123,419$115,000$94,231
Lisa Hallo$102,875
Joy Dickerson$96,538$91,513$89,005

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.

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$3.7M · 93%
Investment income$267K · 7%
Program service revenue$25K · 1%
Contributions & grants93%$3.7M
Investment income7%$267K
Program service revenue1%$25K
— government grantsLn 1e$1.3M
Total revenueLn 12$4.0M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.82 Management & general $0.06 Fundraising $0.12
Program services82%$3.6M
Management & general6%$264K
Fundraising12%$536K
Total functional expensesLn 25$4.4M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$1.6M
Total assetsLn 16$9.4M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$155K
Total net assetsLn 32$9.3M
Months of cash on handcomputed4.2

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $7.4M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $4.4M · Less non-cash grants $384K · Cash operating expenses/yr $4.0M
21.9 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $3.6M · Total expenses $4.4M
82%
Management & General
Management & general $264K · Total expenses $4.4M
6%
Fundraising
Fundraising $536K · Total expenses $4.4M
12%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $533K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $2.8M
$0.19 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $3.7M · Total revenue $4.0M
93%
Government reliance
Government grants $1.3M · Total revenue $4.0M
32%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $25K · Total revenue $4.0M
1%
Investment reliance
Investment income $267K · Total revenue $4.0M
+7%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $25K · Total expenses $4.4M
1%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $4.0M · Prior year $4.6M
-13%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $1.4M · FY2024 $4.0M
+30%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $9.3M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $4.0M · Expenses $4.4M
-12%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $9.4M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $9.3M · Total assets $9.4M
98%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $5.8M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $9.4M
62%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Aldon Knight · Reported title EXECUTIVE DI · Highest reported compensation $134K · Total expenses $4.4M
3%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $2.1M · Total expenses $4.4M
48%
Fundraising vendors
Fundraiser cost ratio
Paid to fundraisers $46K · Gross raised $1.3M
3%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 82%
Overhead ratio 6%
Fundraising cost ratio 15%
Revenue growth -13%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 1%
Accounting fee ratio 1%
Fundraising fee ratio 1%

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.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 4 funders$112K
See all 4 funders →
Grants paid · 18 grants · $1.5M · 2023–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$714,100
The King Family TrustFY2024$245,000
Unitemized GrantFY2024$80,400
McTimber Properties LLCFY2024$65,000
The Nature ConservancyVA · FY2024$50,000
Conserving CarolinaNC · FY2024$50,000
SpaceSC · FY2024$39,840
McTimber Properties LLCFY2024$24,200
Naturaland TrustSC · FY2024$18,440
SpaceSC · FY2024$15,000
Upper Savannah Land TrustSC · FY2024$10,000
The King Family TrustFY2024$9,000
Unitemized GrantFY2023$92,000
Naturaland TrustSC · FY2023$30,000
Hlc PropertiesFY2023$25,000
The Happy Berry LLCFY2023$23,000
Upper Savannah Land TrustSC · FY2023$10,000

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$4.0M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$4.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$2.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$1.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$1.4M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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