Executive Compensation at the Nature Conservancy (2024)
The Nature Conservancy – a 501 (c) (3) based in Arlington, Virginia – whose mission is “to conserve land and waters on which all life depends” has been around since 1951 and is one of the most popular and wealthy non-profits in the country.
There are 23 voting members (directors) of the governing body, 21 of whom are independent, although the Form 990 lists 25 directors (due to timing differences) – 13 (52%) of whom are male and 12 (48%) of whom are female.
The most recent financial information (the 2023 IRS Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2024) reports the organization raised $1.5 billion and spent $1.4 billion. The difference between revenue raised and revenue spent was $130 million which along with nearly $220 million in net unrealized gains on investments and other changes in assets helped increase net fund assets from $7.8 billion at the beginning of the year to $8.1 billion at the end of the year. Read more 
How Revenue is Spent at the Nature Conservancy (2024)
The Nature Conservancy raises more than $1 billion a year and has $8 billion in net assets , making the organization one of the most well capitalized non-profits in the country. If you’ve ever wondered how a donation is spent but don’t feel inclined to read the dozens and dozens of pages of the IRS Form 990 (the tax return submitted to the IRS annually), then continue reading.
The bottom line: Most revenue ($72 out of every $100) is spent on compensation for the nearly 5,000 employees, fees for outside services, office-related expenses and other administrative expenses (i.e. travel, conferences, etc). $8 out of every $100 is used for grants for conservation efforts. Read more
Executive Compensation at the Nature Conservancy (2023)
The Nature Conservancy – a 501 (c) (3) based in Arlington, Virginia – whose mission is “to conserve land and waters on which all life depends” has been around since 1951 and is one of the most popular and wealthy non-profits in the country.
There are 21 voting members (directors) of the governing body, 19 of whom are independent, although the Form 990 lists 25 directors (due to timing differences) – 13 (52%) of whom are male and 12 (48%).of whom are female.
The most recent financial information (the 2022 IRS Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2023) reports the organization raised $1.2 billion and spent $1.1 billion. The difference between revenue raised and revenue spent was $46 million which along with nearly $240 million in net unrealized losses on investments and other changes in assets helped increase net fund assets from $7.5 billion at the beginning of the year to $7.8 billion at the end of the year. Read more
How the Nature Conservancy Spends Revenue (2023)
The Nature Conservancy raises more than $1 billion a year and has nearly $8 billion in net assets , making the organization one of the most well capitalized non-profits in the country. If you’ve ever wondered how a donation is spent but don’t feel inclined to read the dozens and dozens of pages of the IRS Form 990 (the tax return submitted to the IRS annually), then continue reading.
The bottom line: most revenue is spent on compensation, outside fees, and office-related expenses. Less than 10% of revenue was spent on grants. Read more
Executive Compensation at the San Diego Zoo (2023)
The Zoological Society of San Diego is more popularly known, and does business as the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA). A tax-exempt, non-profit conservation organization, and perhaps more widely known for the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, SDZWA is also known as one of the wealthiest zoos in the US with nearly $800 million in net assets. Read more
How Revenue is Spent at the San Diego Zoo (2023)
The Zoological Society of San Diego is more popularly known, and does business as the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA) but is often referred to as simply the San Diego Zoo. Known as one of the wealthiest zoos in the country, the SDZWA has nearly $800 million in net assets (which was primarily accumulated by not spending as much as the organization raises).
A tax-exempt, non-profit conservation organization, SDZWA has been advertising in the Wall Street Journal trying to raise funds (total revenue dipped from $422 million in 2019 to $247 million in 2020 but then increased to $356 million in 2021, $392 million in 2022, and $411 million in 2023).
There are 12 independent voting members (trustees) of the governing body, 8 (75%) of whom are male while 3 (25%) are female (note: The 990 does not report gender; determinations were made based on name and google searches). Read more
Executive Compensation at the National Geographic Society (2023)
The National Geographic Society (NGS) is a tax-exempt non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization based in Washington, DC that primarily relies on investment income (gains on the sale of investments, dividends, interest, etc), royalties, and contributions for revenue.
With $1.5 billion in net assets (down $250 million from 2021 due to unrealized losses on investments in 2021 that were partially offset by gains in 2023), NGS has the ability to rely on these resources to keep their programs going when contributions, gifts, and grants (roughly $20-$90 million annually) are not enough, and when revenue greatly decreases due to unforeseen circumstances, like the pandemic in 2020. Read more
Executive Compensation at Dairy Management (2023)
Dairy Management Inc (DMI) is the big organization that most people haven’t heard of because unless you’re a dairy producer, work in the dairy industry, or work in the corporate offices of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Dominoe’s, or KFC, you would have no reason to know that this non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (6) is the most powerful non-profit dairy organization in the country.
Considered a “check-off” program authorized by Congress but responsible to their members, DMI’s mission is to increase consumption of dairy products by finding more ways to get dairy products to the public including assisting fast food companies with menu items. Read more
How Dairy Management Spends Revenue (2023)
Dairy Management Inc (DMI) is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (6) whose purpose is to promote dairy products in order to increase consumption of dairy products.
Funded by a mandate by Congress, DMI is what is referred to as a “check off program” where all producers have to contribute funds for the good of the industry. Dairy producers are required to contribute 15 cents per 100 pounds (foreign dairy producers are required to contribute 7.5 cents per 100 pounds) which equates to about 1.5 cents per gallon of milk, all of which adds up to about $150-$180 million annually (which is then spent on marketing (about 60%), administrative organization expenses (about 30%) and export expenses (about 10%). Read more
$19 a Month to the ASPCA – How Much Goes to Vet Services?
If you donated $19 a month to the ASPCA in 2023 and want to know how your donation was spent, know that:
- $11 went to pay staff, office-related expenses, travel and conferences;
- $6 went to pay advertising and promotion and fees for outside services, including professional fundraisers, and miscellaneous expenses;
- $1 out of every $19 was spent on veterinary services, operating supplies, and grants to other non-profits whose mission is to help protect animals; leaving
- $1 unspent and allocated to the organization’s general fund. Read more
