Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Apr 1982.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
85 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
12 people listed on the 990; $166K paid to officers and key staff.
James Becker’s $122K as CEO is at the 91st percentile of top reported officer pay among 1989 $100K–1M 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
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Becker | $122,328 | $111,475 | $41,818 | — |
| Michele Rutledge | — | — | $60,618 | $83,992 |
| Emilie Ryan | — | — | — | $81,903 |
| Cynthia Hartmann | — | — | $63,621 | — |
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
Accelerates conservation success using aerial perspectives.
Questions for Lighthawk
Your first name shows with your question. Lighthawk answers here, for everyone.
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Education and Outreach
Lighthawk spent most of the year working with partners like The Nature Conservancy, Audubon, Surfrider Foundation, US Fish and Wildlife among others, as well as legislators at all levels throughout the US.
Research and Management
LAND, WATER AND WILDLIFE: LightHawk flights supported land trust oversight and management throughout the US through easement monitoring and evaluation of land for acquisition feasibility and providing compliance and other information otherwise not accessible.
Wildlife Transport
When Covid shut down almost all commercial aviation, it also halted the species transport that some of the major airlines assisted in. This past year saw unprecedented need for moving endangered animals like Mexican wolves, masked bobwhite quail and white abalone.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $721K | $889K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $840K | $1.1M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $694 | $347 |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $2.6M | $3.1M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $57K | $201K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $2.6M | $2.9M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | $229K | $197K | $18K | $14K |
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $0 | |||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $424K | $315K | $46K | $63K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $19K | $15K | $2K | $3K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $79K | $58K | $9K | $11K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $46K | $36K | $5K | $5K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $12K | $9K | $2K | $851 |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $1K | $1K | $254 | $100 |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $24K | $18K | $4K | $2K |
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $0 | |||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $12K | $12K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $285 | $285 | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $11K | $8K | $2K | $761 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $16K | $7K | $2K | $7K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $32K | $19K | $2K | $10K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $48K | $48K | ||
| RoyaltiesLn 15 | $0 | |||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $7K | $5K | $1K | $1K |
| TravelLn 17 | $3K | $3K | $19 | $100 |
| Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18 | $0 | |||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $0 | |||
| InterestLn 20 | $0 | |||
| Payments to affiliatesLn 21 | $0 | |||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $347 | $347 | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $43K | $40K | $1K | $1K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $548K | $546K | $509 | $1K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $13 | $4 | $1 | $8 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.6M | $1.3M | $97K | $133K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $729K | $943K | −$213K | $1.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $548K | $1.4M | −$865K | $1.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $1.9M | $1.8M | $15K | $2.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | Not on file | ||||
| FY2021 Viewing | $1.5M | $1.6M | −$8K | $2.9M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,548,212 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 9 of 9 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,548,212 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,556,538 across 31 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $3,053,452 assets, 24 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,852,337 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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