Michigan · Nonprofit
Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser
Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser (Michigan) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $233,250 to it, the largest being MORGAN STANLEY GLOBAL IMPACT FUNDING TRUST INC ($94,000). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 77% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $293k
- Funders on record
- 5
- Grants received
- $233k
- Net assets
- $2.1M
What Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser does
Mission
The mission of the organization is to protect the land, water, and wildlife in the headwaters region of the Clinton, Shiawassee, Huron, and Flint rivers through preservation, stewardship, and education.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Stewardship (Maintenance, Monitoring & Restoration) - BHHC provided active stewardship for all 60 protected parcels, including annual monitoring of conservation easements, invasive species control, habitat restoration, and infrastructure maintenance at publicly accessible preserves. A Stewardship Coordinator was onboarded and investments were made in equipment, mapping, and reserve planning to support long-term care and compliance with Land Trust Alliance standards.
$59,045 spent45% of program spendingPreservation (Land Protection & Conservation Easements) - Blue Heron Headwaters Conservancy (BHHC) permanently protects ecologically significant lands in the headwaters of the Clinton, Shiawassee, Huron, and Flint River watersheds. In 2024 BHHC continued to uphold its commitment to land preservation through outreach to landowners, easement monitoring, and community partnerships to advance long-term conservation goals. BHHC holds interests in 60 parcels totaling approximately 1,550 acres (20 owned, 40 under conservation easement).
$39,365 spent30% of program spendingEducation (Community Outreach & Volunteer Engagement) - BHHC engaged the public through native-plant sales, guided hikes, stewardship workdays, and educational outreach events focused on watershed protection and native habitats. The organization expanded volunteer participation, provided training on ecological stewardship, and used its website and publications to educate the community and promote conservation awareness throughout the region.
$32,800 spent25% of program spendingThe Conservancy continued its partnership with Oakland County CISMA to remove invasive species.
Continued focus on reintroducing native plants to the properties we maintain.
The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $131,210.
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 2022 to 2023, from $1.9M to $2.1M (+10%).
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.
82% of Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser’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. 4 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income rose $4k → $12k.
2 of 5 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 77% 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 Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser’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
Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser leans on a few funders — its largest provides 40% of grant income and the top three 85%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
94% 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 Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 88% · 2021 98% · 2022 68% · 2023 86% — diversifying over time.
“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.
Where its funders are
77% of Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $54k that is directly attributable, 74% of it comes from funders outside Michigan, across 3 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $179k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 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
Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 4,264 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 4,264 environment nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser
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 Michigan
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
59% 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 Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser: 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 Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser?
- Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser (Michigan) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $233,250 to it, the largest being MORGAN STANLEY GLOBAL IMPACT FUNDING TRUST INC ($94,000). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 77% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser have?
- IRS filings report 5 organizations giving $233,250 in grants to Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser, 3 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser?
- MORGAN STANLEY GLOBAL IMPACT FUNDING TRUST INC is the largest funder on record, with $94,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Michigan. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Independence Land Conservancy DBA Blue Heron Headwaters Conser →
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 5 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