California · Nonprofit
California Council of Land Trusts
California Council of Land Trusts (California) receives grants from 20 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,585,145 to it, the largest being Big Sur Land Trust ($740,068). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.2M
- Funders on record
- 20
- Grants received
- $1.6M
- Net assets
- $537k
What California Council of Land Trusts does
Mission
To conserve California's extraordinary land and water resources through a strong network of land trusts with one cohesive voice across urban and rural communities.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
GRANT PROGRAMS:1. Secured $5 Million in reimbursable funding received from Wildlife Conservation Board in February 2024. Awarded $1.9 million to 23 land trusts that leverages over $70 million of other funding for project advancement.2. $1.73 Million in reimbursable funding received from the Department of Conservation for Capacity Building Programs for Land Trusts. Awarded $1.1million to 11 projects that leverage over $55 million in other funding.
$678,610 spent$732,554 earned by the program75% of program spendingEDUCATION:1. Held an annual conference for over 300 attendees including over 100 hours of training. Thisincludeda Conservation Forum for attorneys.2. Held 4 quarterly meetings for members with the updates on 30x30, policy updates, and special topics impacting land trust operations and practices.3. Supported the California Natural Resources Agency with the delivery of a Tribal Summit related to 30x30.4. Organized or participated in numerous regional meetings throughout the state at which education, information,andnetworking were the focus.5. Assisted state agency staff in helping to define conservation for 30x30 and the role that land trusts already play in helping to meet the state's goals.
$176,334 spent$189,484 earned by the program19% of program spendingPOLICY:1. Provided several letters of support for bills related to land conservation.2. Communication about existing state law on easement amendments, mitigation endowments, and welfare exemption of open space.3. Advocacy for funding for the 30x30 initiative for land acquisitions and capacity building for land trusts. Part of the coalition that shaped and negotiated the legislative initiative that became Proposition 4, a $10 billion bond measure for climate, water, and wildfire.
$54,986 spent6% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $909,930.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $707k to $2.1M (+194%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 17% · 2024 23%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
62% of California Council of Land Trusts’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (88% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Bridget Fithian
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 5 funders to 6 funders, grant income rose $58k → $450k.
6 of 20 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 15% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of California Council of Land Trusts’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
California Council of Land Trusts leans on a few funders — its largest provides 47% of grant income and the top three 66%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
90% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund California Council of Land Trusts.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 43% · 2018 32% · 2019 31% · 2020 50% · 2021 59% · 2022 57% · 2023 61% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
27% of California Council of Land Trusts's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 45% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
98% of California Council of Land Trusts's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $230k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
California Council of Land Trusts holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 2,186 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,186 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like California Council of Land Trusts
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
81% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
96%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for California Council of Land Trusts: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds California Council of Land Trusts?
- California Council of Land Trusts (California) receives grants from 20 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,585,145 to it, the largest being Big Sur Land Trust ($740,068). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does California Council of Land Trusts have?
- IRS filings report 20 organizations giving $1,585,145 in grants to California Council of Land Trusts, 9 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of California Council of Land Trusts?
- Big Sur Land Trust is the largest funder on record, with $740,068 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like California Council of Land Trusts find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 20 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing