Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 1998.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
91 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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
22 people listed on the 990; $474K paid to officers and key staff.
Aldon Knight’s $144K as Executive Di is at the 60th 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 · 5 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aldon Knight | $143,670 | $133,765 | $124,545 | — | — | — |
| Andrea Cooper | — | $39,591 | $128,401 | $123,419 | $115,000 | $94,231 |
| Morgan Martin | $120,000 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lisa Hallo | $108,050 | $102,875 | — | — | — | — |
| Joy Dickerson | $102,128 | $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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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 critical lands, waters, and the unique character of Upstate South Carolina.
Questions for Upstate Forever
Your first name shows with your question. Upstate Forever answers here, for everyone.
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As of dec 31, 2025, the upstate forever land conservation program is accredited by the land trust accreditation commission and has protected 34,872 acres through 183 conservation easements in the upstate of south carolina. 30% of the easements provide public access and 24% are working farms.
In 2025, 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 protecting land in the tyger river watershed in greenville and spartanburg counties and the three and twenty creek watershed…
In 2025, 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.THEY partnered on education and advocacy efforts with transit and housing advocates…
Funders
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 | $1.6M | $1.7M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $5.8M | $6.5M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $555K | $529K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $9.4M | $9.5M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $155K | $88K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $9.3M | $9.4M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $142K | $142K | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $4.2M | $4.2M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $258K | $128K | $130K | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.7M | $1.3M | $157K | $325K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $59K | $45K | $4K | $10K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $72K | $58K | $325 | $13K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $146K | $104K | $18K | $24K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $31K | $31K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $116K | $116K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $31K | $31K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $446K | $429K | $15K | $1K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $2K | $2K | $515 | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $56K | $38K | $6K | $11K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $139K | $87K | $25K | $27K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $44K | $27K | $17K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $49K | $44K | $2K | $3K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $93K | $40K | $1K | $52K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $26K | $26K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $42K | $11K | $30K | $451 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $17K | $224K | −$260K | $54K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $2K | $2K | $581 | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $7.7M | $7.0M | $202K | $522K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $7.3M | $7.7M | −$407K | $9.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $4.0M | $4.4M | −$466K | $9.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $4.6M | $3.2M | $1.4M | $9.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $2.5M | $2.7M | −$196K | $7.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $1.9M | $2.2M | −$286K | $8.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $1.4M | $1.9M | −$483K | $8.8M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $7,284,433 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 18 of 18 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $7,284,433 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $7,691,756 across 21 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $9,505,667 assets, 14 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $9,417,352 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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