Forterra Nw FY2020 filing

Tax-deductible

Seattle, WA501(c)(3)Since 1994EnvironmentEIN 94-3112461Revenue $17.8M in FY2020

On file with the IRSforterra.org5101 14th Ave Nw Ste 200 # 307, 98107-5143 · Seattle, WATax-exempt since Jan 1994Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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To enhance, support and steward the region's most precious resources. Many of the projects which Forterra undertakes to achieve our mission through efforts that can often span several years. Net revenues from completion of these projects can be reinvested to fund the development of projects in future periods, covering net losses in years with no significant project closings.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
80¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$1.1M 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

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
2 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $1.1M a year · 9% of revenue · last 5 filings
Concern: a surplus in 2 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
80%
of spending
Looks good: 80% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.1M
to officers and key staff · 8% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 8% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
8 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 8.2 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $35K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$10.1M
17% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 17% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
23
of 24 voting members
Looks good: 23 of 24 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$17.8M
Spent
$12.9M
To programs
80%
Net assets
$50.0M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$17.8M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$17.8M
FY2021$15.5M
FY2022$10.3M
FY2023$5.0M
FY2024$12.8M
Expenses
$12.9M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$12.9M
FY2021$19.6M
FY2022$13.9M
FY2023$9.9M
FY2024$10.9M
Net assets
$50.0M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$50.0M
FY2021$45.9M
FY2022$42.2M
FY2023$37.0M
FY2024$38.8M

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 Jan 1994.

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

Where the money goes

80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 80% · $10.3M Management & general 8% · $1.0M Fundraising 12% · $1.6M

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

32 people listed on the 990; $1.1M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President & CEO
$209,974Pt VII · Sec A
Cro & VP Strategic Projects
$151,251Pt VII · Sec A
VP of Real Estate Transactions
$137,829Pt VII · Sec A
VP of Policy & Programming
$137,054Pt VII · Sec A
CFO & VP Administration
$135,784Pt VII · Sec A
VP Marketing & Communication
$130,691Pt VII · Sec A
CEO Emeritus Thru 07/2020
$87,134Pt VII · Sec A
CFO & VP Administration
$41,100Pt VII · Sec A

Rachel Valdez’s $243K as Chief Operating Officer is at the 48th percentile of top reported officer pay among 324 $10–100M 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Michelle Connor$231,150$232,048$416,188$322,183$209,974
Tobias Levey——$332,877$220,263$137,829
Margaret Griffiths—$139,182$269,689$198,801$41,100
Kristi England$240,270$173,119$263,988$199,713$151,251
Rachel Valdez$243,395$213,404$262,564$152,381—
David Leon$229,665$141,680———
Erin Kindall$191,982$164,614———
Fred Swenson—$110,046$151,867$175,892$137,054

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

Conserves, restores, and stewards Pacific Northwest lands, parks, and urban forests through community partnerships, tree planting initiatives, and carbon capture programs.

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3 programs · $9.1M · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Conservation

Forterra protects natural resources threatened by irreversible conversion, and has conserved more than 250,000 acres of community, habitat and recreational land since our founding in 1989. At any given time, we are working on dozens of conservation projects.

$3.4Mprogram expense
02

Community-Driven Development

Forterra not only conserves natural spaces and working lands, but also invests in places where people live. We listen and work in collaboration so that anything we build embodies the identity of the community and our shared desire for sustainability.

$3.3Mprogram expense
03

Restoration and Stewardship

Forterra helps restore forested public lands across the region and manages nearly 17,000 acres of forterra-owned land and easements. Our riparian restoration team is actively working along six of our region's most important rivers and streams.

$2.4Mprogram 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 1 funder$35K
Grants paid · 24 grants · $1.5M · 2020–2024
Roslyn Downtown AssociationWA · FY2024$27,357
Tilth AllianceWA · FY2024$25,875
Whale Scout INCWA · FY2024$25,000
Tulalip Tribes of WashingtonFY2024$22,500
Environmental Science CenterWA · FY2024$13,585
Issaquah Alps Trails ClubWA · FY2024$13,500
Thornton Creek AllianceWA · FY2024$9,000
EarthcorpsWA · FY2024$9,000
Nature Vision INCWA · FY2024$9,000
Partner in EmploymentWA · FY2023$22,500
Unitemized GrantFY2023$20,970
Roslyn Downtown AssociationWA · FY2023$20,472
Puget Sound EnergyFY2023$9,465
See all 24 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$17.8M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$14.5M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$2.6M
Investment incomeLn 3$646K
Money outPt IX
$12.9M
Ln 25
Programscol B$10.3M
Managementcol C$1.0M
Fundraisingcol D$1.6M
Owns and owesPt X
$50.0M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$8.8M
Total assetsLn 16$60.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$10.1M
PeoplePt VI, VII
32
listed · VII A
PaidVII A9
Voting boardVI 1a24
IndependentVI 1b23
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$14.5M
Government grantsLn 1e$7.2M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$1.2M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$2.6M
Investment incomeLn 3$646K
Other incomeLn 4–11$76K
Gains on assetsLn 7$180K
Total revenueLn 12$17.8M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$3.1M
SavingsLn 2$5.7M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$8.8M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$5.2M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$25.3M
Other assetsLn 15$14.5M
Total assetsLn 16$60.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$10.1M
Net assetsLn 32$50.0M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5100
VolunteersI 61,449
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$6.7M$8.8M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$5.1M$5.2M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$22.9M$25.3M
Total assetsLn 16$50.7M$60.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$5.7M$10.1M
Net assetsLn 32$44.9M$50.0M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$556K$556K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$984K$728K$167K$89K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$4.1M$3.0M$352K$764K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$89K$64K$8K$17K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$308K$217K$36K$55K
Payroll taxesLn 10$461K$332K$52K$77K
Legal feesLn 11b$129K$96K$14K$20K
Accounting feesLn 11c$36K$36K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$43K$43K
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$75K$75K
Investment management feesLn 11f$14K$14K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$2.2M$1.7M$209K$276K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$108K$80K$10K$18K
Information technologyLn 14$98K$73K$10K$15K
OccupancyLn 16$442K$330K$33K$79K
TravelLn 17$54K$44K$7K$3K
InterestLn 20$327K$327K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$63K$51K$4K$8K
InsuranceLn 23$117K$86K$10K$20K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$2.5M$2.4M$19K$20K
All other expensesLn 24e$265K$184K$19K$62K
Total functional expensesLn 25$12.9M$10.3M$1.0M$1.6M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest $12.8M$10.9M$1.9M$38.8M 990 PDF
FY2023 $5.0M$9.9M−$4.9M$37.0M 990 PDF
FY2022 $10.3M$13.9M−$3.6M$42.2M 990 PDF
FY2021 $15.5M$19.6M−$4.1M$45.9M 990 PDF
FY2020 Viewing $17.8M$12.9M$4.9M$50.0M 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
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $17,847,949 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $13,008,536$14,495,327
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $2,427,750$2,631,126
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $367,034$645,788
I-11 Other revenuePrior year −$104,120$75,708
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $15,699,200$17,847,949
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$556,010
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $4,769,023$5,957,162
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $1,831$75,192
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $5,299,615$6,327,479
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $10,070,469$12,915,843
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $5,628,731$4,932,106
Part VI · Governance 23 of 24 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body24
VI-1b Independent voting members23
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 $17,847,949 across 10 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $202 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1e Government grants$7,215,064
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$7,280,263
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$1,178,402
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$14,495,327
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $2,631,126$2,631,126
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $466,255$466,255
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossExcluded from tax $72,059$72,059
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $179,533$179,533
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $3,447$3,447
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $2,631,126 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $721,496$17,847,949
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $12,915,843 across 21 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $556,010$556,010
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $728,450 · Management $166,851 · Fundraising $89,174$984,475
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $2,998,762 · Management $352,375 · Fundraising $763,991$4,115,128
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $63,626 · Management $8,488 · Fundraising $16,527$88,641
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $217,406 · Management $35,772 · Fundraising $54,986$308,164
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $331,620 · Management $52,114 · Fundraising $77,020$460,754
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $96,250 · Management $13,658 · Fundraising $19,501$129,409
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $36,469$36,469
IX-11d Lobbying feesPrograms $43,000$43,000
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $75,192$75,192
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $13,725$13,725
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $1,689,411 · Management $209,499 · Fundraising $276,058$2,174,968
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $79,770 · Management $9,564 · Fundraising $18,265$107,599
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $73,085 · Management $10,371 · Fundraising $14,807$98,263
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $330,148 · Management $32,688 · Fundraising $79,341$442,177
IX-17 TravelPrograms $43,920 · Management $6,997 · Fundraising $2,796$53,713
IX-20 InterestPrograms $326,567$326,567
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $51,003 · Management $4,112 · Fundraising $7,853$62,968
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $86,459 · Management $10,366 · Fundraising $19,797$116,622
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $2,418,356 · Management $18,717 · Fundraising $19,863$2,456,936
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $183,704 · Management $19,395 · Fundraising $61,964$265,063
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $10,317,547 · Management $1,001,161 · Fundraising $1,597,135$12,915,843
Part X · Balance sheet $60,131,834 assets, 18 lines filed
Asset lines not itemized here account for $2,362,648; see the IRS return.
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $3,194,224$3,072,284
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $3,483,260$5,749,582
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $1,421,685$2,638,765
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $1,731,787$1,221,916
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $172,822$68,721
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $22,931,835$25,289,801
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $3,728,712$3,706,527
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $1,375,724$1,527,040
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $10,223,102$14,494,550
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $50,651,669$60,131,834
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $1,029,339$1,415,890
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $212,209$365,000
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $4,474,682$101,000
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $5,716,230$10,111,554
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $37,176,224$40,049,795
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $7,759,215$9,970,485
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $44,935,439$50,020,280
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $50,651,669$60,131,834
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $50,020,280 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$17,847,949
XI-2 Total expenses$12,915,843
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$4,932,106
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$44,935,439
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$151,530
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$1,205
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$50,020,280

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

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