Whatcom Land Trust FY2021 filing

Tax-deductible

Bellingham, WA501(c)(3)EnvironmentEIN 91-1246994

Land conservation and stewardship.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
69¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$81K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
Is it a real charity?
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Are gifts tax-deductible?
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Is it filing on time?
FY2025
latest Form 990
IRS e-file · Filing history
Is it financially stable?
6 of 6
years in the black
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
How much reaches the programs?
69%
of spending
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
What are leaders paid?
$81K
to officers and key staff · 8% of spending
Pt VII · Sec A
Do they have reserves?
33 mo
of spending, in cash
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Who is supporting them already?
10
named funders · $208K
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Do they carry debt?
$787K
liabilities
Pt X · Ln 26
Who oversees it?
13
independent of 13 voting board members
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Revenue
$3.3M
+35% vs prior year
Spent
$970K
To programs
69%
Net assets
$29.1M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$3.3M
FY2021▲ +35%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$2.4M
FY2021$3.3M
FY2022$2.6M
FY2023$1.9M
FY2024$2.4M
FY2025$2.2M
Expenses
$970K
FY2021▼ -3%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$1.0M
FY2021$970K
FY2022$1.1M
FY2023$1.1M
FY2024$1.4M
FY2025$1.7M
Net assets
$29.1M
FY2021▲ +9%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$26.8M
FY2021$29.1M
FY2022$30.3M
FY2023$30.6M
FY2024$31.8M
FY2025$32.5M

From the FY2021 Form 990 (year ending June 2021) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Status and standing

Is it real, and can you give to it?

Tax-deductible?
Yes
Per the IRS master file.
Can I give now?
No revocation on IRS record
Not on the IRS revocation list.
Filing up to date?
Filed FY2025 (typical filing lag)
Legal name (IRS)Hdr · item CWhatcom Land Trust
EINHdr · item D91-1246994
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
Ruling yearIRS BMFSep 1984
Latest filingForm 990FY2025 · Form 990
Principal addressHdr · item CBellingham, WA
NTEE classificationIRS BMFEnvironment (C340)
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.whatcomlandtrust.org

Where the money goes

What each dollar paid for.

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.69 Management & general $0.19 Fundraising $0.12
Program services69%$669K
Management & general19%$188K
Fundraising12%$112K
Total functional expensesLn 25$970K

Financial health

Is it on solid ground?

Program efficiency
69%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
50.6mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+70%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Total assets
$29.9M
FY2021▲ +8%
Total assets by fiscal year
FY2020$27.8M
FY2021$29.9M
FY2022$31.4M
FY2023$31.2M
FY2024$32.9M
FY2025$33.6M
Total liabilities
$787K
FY2021▼ -20%
Total liabilities by fiscal year
FY2020$987K
FY2021$787K
FY2022$1.0M
FY2023$645K
FY2024$1.0M
FY2025$1.1M
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$2.3M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$29.9M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B69%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 313
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 413

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$2.6M
Total assetsLn 16$29.9M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$787K
Total net assetsLn 32$29.1M
Months of cash on handcomputed32.7

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$2.7M · 82%
Program service revenue$483K · 15%
Investment income$97K · 3%
Other revenue$27K · 1%
Contributions & grants82%$2.7M
Program service revenue15%$483K
Investment income3%$97K
Other revenue1%$27K
— government grantsLn 1e$997K
Total revenueLn 12$3.3M

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $4.1M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $970K · Less non-cash grants $2K · Cash operating expenses/yr $968K
50.6 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $669K · Total expenses $970K
69%
Management & General
Management & general $188K · Total expenses $970K
19%
Fundraising
Fundraising $112K · Total expenses $970K
12%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $118K · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $1.3M
$0.09 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $2.7M · Total revenue $3.3M
82%
Government reliance
Government grants $997K · Total revenue $3.3M
30%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $483K · Total revenue $3.3M
15%
Investment reliance
Investment income $97K · Total revenue $3.3M
+3%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $483K · Total expenses $970K
50%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $3.3M · Prior year $2.4M
+35%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $29.1M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $3.3M · Expenses $970K
+70%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $29.9M
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $29.1M · Total assets $29.9M
97%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $1.1M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $293K · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $29.9M
5%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Gabe Epperson · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $81K · Total expenses $970K
8%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $580K · Total expenses $970K
60%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 69%——
Overhead ratio 19%——
Fundraising cost ratio 4%——
Revenue growth 35%——
Legal fee ratio 0.02%——
Accounting fee ratio 7%——

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.

Leadership and pay

Who runs it, and what are they paid?

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$80,512Pt VII · Sec A
Vice-President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Jenn Mackey’s $93K as Interim Executive Director (co-Ed Sep-Dec) is at the 22nd 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 · 6 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Gabe Epperson—$97,303$95,150$95,150——
Jenn Mackey$93,276$74,648————
Richard J Bowers—————$87,675
Alex Jeffers$86,046$63,139————
Gabe Epperson————$80,512—
Gabriel Epperson—————$66,671

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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Governance & Policies

Part VI
  • 13Voting board membersPt VI · Ln 1a
  • 13Independent board membersPt VI · Ln 1b
  • Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
  • Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
  • Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
  • Top official’s pay independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
  • Family or business ties among leadersPt VI · Ln 2No

Mission and programs

What it does.

Preserves and cares for natural lands for future generations.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Whatcom Land Trust claims this page.

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $669K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

Whatcom Land Trust Has Three Main Focuses

1) outreach and education about land conservation, monitoring, and land trust 2)MANAGEMENT and maintenance of land and easements held through purchase or DONATION.3)LAND conservation projects and ongoing monitoring of land and easements held through purchase or donation.

$669Kprogram expense

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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 · FY2024
See all 10 funders →
Grants paid · 2 grants · $54K · 2019–2022
Community Food CoopFY2022$20,000
Whatcom Land TitleFY2019$34,000

Filing history

Every return on file.

YearRevenueExpensesChangeFiling
FY2025 Latest $2.2M$1.7M-6% 990 PDF
FY2024 $2.4M$1.4M+25% 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.9M$1.1M-26% 990 PDF
FY2022 $2.6M$1.1M-22% 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $3.3M$970K+35% 990 PDF
FY2020 $2.4M$1.0M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash

Not shown yet: ratings, outcomes, and peer benchmarks. A Form 990 doesn’t report them.

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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