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Arizona Land and Water Trust INC EIN 86-6148507

Arizona Land and Water Trust INC

EIN  86-6148507 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Tucson, AZ Founded 1978
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 8/27/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Protects southern Arizona's landscapes, farms, ranches, wildlife, and water.
Leadership
Michael McDonald · Executive Director (through 05/25) · $143K
Money in and out
$1.3M revenue, $995K expenses
Bottom line
55% program efficiency

Protects southern Arizona's landscapes, farms, ranches, wildlife, and water. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $1.3M in revenue, $995K in expenses, and $20.2M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$1.3M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$995K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$20.2M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $320K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.55 Management & general $0.18 Fundraising $0.27
Program efficiency
55%
of spending reaches programs▼ -10% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
127.8mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+24%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -65% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$1.3M
FY2024▼ -65%
Expenses
$995K
FY2024▼ -12%
Total assets
$20.3M
FY2024▲ +4%
Total liabilities
$106K
FY2024▼ -25%
Total revenue
$1.3M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$995K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$20.2M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$320K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$20.3M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B55%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 314
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 414
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $551K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Arizona land and water trust continued to advance its protection of biologically sensitive areas and working landscapes throughout FY25, producing a number of outreach and education community workshops on land and water protection options, and providing technical assistance on conservation, land use and policy-related issues.

$551Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CArizona Land and Water Trust INC
EINHdr · item D86-6148507
Principal addressHdr · item CTucson, AZ
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.alwt.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1978
State of legal domicileHdr · item MAZ
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFEnvironment (C340)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMay 1979

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a14
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b14
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
Michael McDonald
Executive Director (through 05/25)
$142,538Pt VII · Sec A
Cameron Becker
Executive Director (as of 05/25)
$119,173Pt VII · Sec A
Clint Mabie
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
George Ruyle
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Laura Brown
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Les Corey
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Nicole Fyffe
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Charlotte Hanson
Director (through 02/25)
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Michael McDonald’s $143K as Executive Director (through 05/25) is at the 60th 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 · 5 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Michael McDonald$142,538$142,538————
Cameron Becker$119,173—————
Liz Petterson———$91,832$91,832$87,046
William Scott McDonald——$90,914———
Scott McDonald———$75,904——

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$1.2M · 92%
Investment income$79K · 6%
Program service revenue$25K · 2%
Contributions & grants92%$1.2M
Investment income6%$79K
Program service revenue2%$25K
— government grantsLn 1e$170K
Total revenueLn 12$1.3M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.55 Management & general $0.18 Fundraising $0.27
Program services55%$551K
Management & general18%$177K
Fundraising27%$267K
Total functional expensesLn 25$995K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$1.1M
Total assetsLn 16$20.3M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$106K
Total net assetsLn 32$20.2M
Months of cash on handcomputed13.3

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $7.9M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $995K · Less non-cash grants $254K · Cash operating expenses/yr $741K
127.8 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $551K · Total expenses $995K
55%
Management & General
Management & general $177K · Total expenses $995K
18%
Fundraising
Fundraising $267K · Total expenses $995K
27%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $274K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $2.3M
$0.12 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $1.2M · Total revenue $1.3M
92%
Government reliance
Government grants $170K · Total revenue $1.3M
13%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $25K · Total revenue $1.3M
2%
Investment reliance
Investment income $79K · Total revenue $1.3M
+6%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $25K · Total expenses $995K
2%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $1.3M · Prior year $3.8M
-65%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $8.6M · FY2024 $1.3M
-31%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $20.2M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $1.3M · Expenses $995K
+24%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $20.3M
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $20.2M · Total assets $20.3M
99%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $6.8M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $20.3M
33%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Michael McDonald · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (THROUGH 05/25) · Highest reported compensation $143K · Total expenses $995K
14%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $546K · Total expenses $995K
55%
Fundraising vendors
Fundraiser cost ratio
Paid to fundraisers $34K · Gross raised $315K
11%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 55%——
Overhead ratio 18%——
Fundraising cost ratio 22%——
Revenue growth -65%——

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 · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Rossetter FoundationFY2025$13K
Phoebe R and John D Lewis FoundationFY2025$5K
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$18K

Similar Organizations

Closest in mission — by what they do
Central Arizona Land Trust INCAZ
Pocono Heritage Land Trust INCPA
Okanogan Land TrustWA
Lake County Land Trust OrganizationCA
Flathead Land Trust INCMT
Minnesota Land TrustMN
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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$3.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$7.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$18.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$7.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$8.6M 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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