Preservation of ~20,000 acres of diverse natural lands and open space through adaptive land management, ecological research and restoration, conservation easement stewardship and environmental education programs.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
79¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX

Before you give

FY2020 · 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
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $2.7M a year · 52% of revenue · last 5 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
79%
of spending
Looks good: 79% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
4 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $34.1M in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Looks good: 4.0 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $22K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$56K
0.08% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 0% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
15
of 15 voting members
Looks good: 15 of 15 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$421K
Spent
$2.3M
To programs
79%
Net assets
$73.8M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$421K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$421K
FY2021$16.6M
FY2022$1.3M
FY2023$4.7M
FY2024$3.1M
Expenses
$2.3M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$2.3M
FY2021$2.1M
FY2022$2.6M
FY2023$3.3M
FY2024$2.3M
Net assets
$73.8M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$73.8M
FY2021$76.7M
FY2022$68.8M
FY2023$70.2M
FY2024$72.2M

From the FY2020 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Dec 1998.

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

Where the money goes

79 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 79% · $1.8M Management & general 21% · $485K

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

17 people listed on the 990.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Jamison Watts’s $212K as Executive Dir. is at the 87th 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Jamison Watts$211,970$189,353$198,550$190,000
Deborah Wallace$158,995———

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 Santa Lucia Conservancy 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
  • Loans to or from officersSch L · Pt II1 listed

Programs and updates

Protects diverse natural lands and open spaces through management, research, restoration, and education.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $1.8M · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Adaptive Land Management and Habitat Restoration

Conducted extensive grasslands and oak woodland managment and restoration activities including french broom and other weed eradication, sudden oak death response, prescribed burn planning and a demonstration project using ecologically managed cattle grazing to reduce thatch and promote grassland health.

$1.1Mprogram expense
02

Compliance and Ecological Monitoring

Annual monitoring of private lands and construction areas to ensure compliance with conservation easement terms and assess the condition of sensitive resources.

$432Kprogram expense
03

Education and Interpretive Access Programs

Provided high-quality curriculum driven outdoor environmental education programs to regional school children aged 6 to 16, with over 3,000 participants.

$305Kprogram 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 · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$22K
Grants paid · 1 grant · $10K · 2024–2024

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$421K
Ln 12
Investment incomeLn 3$361K
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$39K
Other incomeLn 4–11$21K
Money outPt IX
$2.3M
Ln 25
Programscol B$1.8M
Managementcol C$485K
Owns and owesPt X
$73.8M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$776K
Total assetsLn 16$73.8M
LiabilitiesLn 26$56K
PeoplePt VI, VII
17
listed · VII A
PaidVII A0
Voting boardVI 1a15
IndependentVI 1b15
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$39K
Government grantsLn 1e$34K
Investment incomeLn 3$361K
Other incomeLn 4–11$21K
Gains on assetsLn 7$0
Total revenueLn 12$421K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$11K
SavingsLn 2$764K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$776K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$34.1M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1.6M
Other assetsLn 15$37.0M
Total assetsLn 16$73.8M
LiabilitiesLn 26$56K
Net assetsLn 32$73.8M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 517
VolunteersI 65
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 FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$847K$776K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$32.2M$34.1M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1.7M$1.6M
Total assetsLn 16$71.8M$73.8M
LiabilitiesLn 26$98K$56K
Net assetsLn 32$71.7M$73.8M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$193K$149K$44K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$721K$555K$166K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$32K$25K$7K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$123K$95K$28K
Payroll taxesLn 10$69K$53K$16K
Management feesLn 11a$27K$27K
Legal feesLn 11b$129K$116K$13K
Accounting feesLn 11c$27K$27K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$304K$254K$49K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$16K$8K$8K
Office expensesLn 13$32K$25K$7K
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$56K$46K$10K
TravelLn 17$14K$2K$12K
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$5K$3K$1K
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$89K$82K$8K
InsuranceLn 23$25K$24K$1K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$401K$322K$79K
All other expensesLn 24e$71K$62K$8K
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.3M$1.8M$485K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest $3.1M$2.3M$815K$72.2M 990 PDF
FY2023 $4.7M$3.3M$1.4M$70.2M 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.3M$2.6M−$1.2M$68.8M 990 PDF
FY2021 $16.6M$2.1M$14.5M$76.7M 990 PDF
FY2020 Viewing $421K$2.3M−$1.9M$73.8M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $420,829 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $20,514$39,093
I-9 Program service revenue$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $887,183$360,513
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $15,958$21,223
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $923,655$420,829
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $893,760$1,138,292
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $1,007,344$1,195,001
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $1,901,104$2,333,293
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$977,449−$1,912,464
Part VI · Governance 15 of 15 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body15
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 $420,829 across 10 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $136 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1e Government grants$33,883
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$5,210
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$39,093
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $360,513$360,513
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossExcluded from tax $10,437$10,437
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assets$0
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $10,650$10,650
VIII-12 Total revenueExcluded from tax $381,736$420,829
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,333,293 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 $148,948 · Management $44,490$193,438
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $554,978 · Management $165,773$720,751
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $24,947 · Management $7,452$32,399
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $94,768 · Management $28,307$123,075
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $52,844 · Management $15,785$68,629
IX-11a Management feesPrograms $27,048$27,048
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $116,147 · Management $12,905$129,052
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $26,800$26,800
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $254,249 · Management $49,295$303,544
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $7,786 · Management $7,786$15,572
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $24,918 · Management $7,228$32,146
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $46,176 · Management $10,288$56,464
IX-17 TravelPrograms $2,082 · Management $11,679$13,761
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $3,485 · Management $1,162$4,647
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $81,518 · Management $7,693$89,211
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $24,103 · Management $1,269$25,372
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $321,643 · Management $79,030$400,673
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $62,232 · Management $8,479$70,711
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $1,847,872 · Management $485,421 · Fundraising $0$2,333,293
Part X · Balance sheet $73,812,523 assets, 21 lines filed
Asset lines not itemized here account for $300,000; see the IRS return.
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $200$11,413
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $846,474$764,198
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$0
X-4 Accounts receivable$12,306
X-8 Inventories for sale or use$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $50,573$58,258
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $1,717,653$1,621,749
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $32,188,035$34,081,601
X-12 Other securities$0
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assets$0
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $36,962,997$36,962,998
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $71,765,932$73,812,523
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $84,376$41,517
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $12,926$12,926
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $675$1,275
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $97,977$55,718
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $34,716,328$36,794,436
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $36,951,627$36,962,369
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $71,667,955$73,756,805
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $71,765,932$73,812,523
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $73,756,805 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$420,829
XI-2 Total expenses$2,333,293
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$1,912,464
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$71,667,955
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$4,001,314
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$73,756,805

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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