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
81 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
11 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.
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Research and Management
Land, water and wildlife: 41% of this fiscal year. 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.
Education and Outreach
34% of this fiscal year was spent working with partners like the nature conservancy, audubon, surfrider foundation, U.S. Fish and wildlife, among others, as well as legislators at all levels throughout the U.S.
Wildlife Transport
25% of this fiscal year. 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 FY2023 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY23 | End FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $889K | $704K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $1.2M | $1.1M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $2.7M | $2.5M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $229K | $53K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $2.5M | $2.4M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $73K | $15K | $29K | $29K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $438K | $394K | $17K | $27K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $42K | $34K | $4K | $5K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $93K | $74K | $8K | $10K |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $339K | $158K | $96K | $85K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $100 | $100 | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $16K | $7K | $4K | $5K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $34K | $34K | $103 | |
| TravelLn 17 | $16K | $14K | $552 | $1K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $50K | $41K | $3K | $6K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $726K | $713K | $11K | $2K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $12K | $8K | $1K | $2K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.8M | $1.5M | $174K | $173K |
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 Viewing | $1.9M | $1.8M | $15K | $2.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | Not on file | ||||
| FY2021 | $1.5M | $1.6M | −$8K | $2.9M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,852,660 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 8 of 8 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,852,660 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,837,689 across 12 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $2,472,967 assets, 12 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,420,143 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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