Form 990 for tax year 2024
Filed by MAINSPRING CONSERVATION TRUST INC.
Totals
- Total revenue
- $6,684,058
- Total expenses
- $5,810,072
- Contributions and grants received
- $6,638,268
- Grants paid
- $0
- Program service revenue
- $310,718
- Investment income
- -$283,026
- Other revenue
- $18,098
- Total assets, end of year
- $19,870,845
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $1,939,837
- Net assets or fund balances, end of year
- $17,931,008
- Program services expenses (Part IX)
- $5,508,146
- Management and general expenses
- $238,497
- Fundraising expenses
- $63,429
- Program service expenses (Part III)
- $5,508,146
Program services were 94.8% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.
Line items
Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.
Revenue
Part VIII, the statement of revenue.
-
1e · Government grants (contributions)
$1,895,327
-
1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants
$4,742,941
-
1g · Noncash contributions included above
$692,714
-
2a · Program service revenue: Stewardship Contracts
total $13,012 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
2b · Program service revenue: Program Services
total $18,070 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
2c · Program service revenue: Shade Your Stream Program
total $26,715 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
2d · Program service revenue: Macroinvertebrate Study
total $10,753 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
2e · Program service revenue: Ela Dam Project
total $233,776 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
2f · All other program service revenue
total $8,392 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
3 · Investment income
total $139,480 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $139,480
-
6a · Gross rents
real property $15,375
-
6b · Less rental expenses
real property $11,124
-
6c · Rental income or loss
real property $4,251
-
6d · Net rental income or loss
total $4,251 · related or exempt $3,375 · unrelated business $876
-
7a · Gross sales of assets other than inventory
other assets $436,491
-
7b · Less cost or other basis and sales expenses
other assets $858,997
-
7c · Gain or loss
other assets -$422,506
-
7d · Net gain or loss
total -$422,506 · related or exempt $0 · unrelated business $0 · excluded -$422,506
-
10a · Gross sales of inventory
$3,169
-
10b · Cost of goods sold
$2,681
-
10c · Net income from sales of inventory
total $488 · excluded $488
-
11a · Other revenue: Miscellaneous
total $13,359 · related or exempt $0 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $13,359
-
11e · Other revenue, total
$13,359
Functional expenses
Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.
-
5 · Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
total $109,317 · program services $92,919 · management and general $12,025 · fundraising $4,373
-
7 · Other salaries and wages
total $641,509 · program services $576,643 · management and general $34,615 · fundraising $30,251
-
8 · Pension plan contributions
total $32,435 · program services $21,792 · management and general $7,597 · fundraising $3,046
-
9 · Other employee benefits
total $47,319 · program services $33,288 · management and general $10,283 · fundraising $3,748
-
10 · Payroll taxes
total $59,851 · program services $50,634 · management and general $6,584 · fundraising $2,633
-
11b · Fees: legal
total $173,273 · program services $173,273 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
11c · Fees: accounting
total $20,340 · program services $0 · management and general $20,340 · fundraising $0
-
11f · Fees: investment management
total $2,087 · program services $0 · management and general $2,087 · fundraising $0
-
11g · Fees: other
total $764,400 · program services $730,975 · management and general $33,340 · fundraising $85
-
12 · Advertising and promotion
total $181 · program services $126 · management and general $55 · fundraising $0
-
13 · Office expenses
total $26,467 · program services $15,785 · management and general $3,134 · fundraising $7,548
-
14 · Information technology
total $6,747 · program services $6,004 · management and general $468 · fundraising $275
-
16 · Occupancy
total $34,460 · program services $21,455 · management and general $12,123 · fundraising $882
-
17 · Travel
total $48,637 · program services $40,861 · management and general $3,944 · fundraising $3,832
-
19 · Conferences, conventions and meetings
total $9,445 · program services $2,114 · management and general $7,239 · fundraising $92
-
20 · Interest
total $7,215 · program services $7,215 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
22 · Depreciation, depletion and amortization
total $76,200 · program services $59,608 · management and general $16,592 · fundraising $0
-
23 · Insurance
total $50,525 · program services $41,526 · management and general $6,641 · fundraising $2,358
-
24a · Other expenses: Land Valuation Changes
total $459,578 · program services $459,578 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
24b · Other expenses: Easement and Land Purchase Expenses
total $2,491,106 · program services $2,491,106 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
24c · Other expenses: Contingency Refund
total $588,547 · program services $588,547 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
24d · Other expenses: Supplies and Materials
total $52,279 · program services $48,810 · management and general $2,636 · fundraising $833
-
24e · All other expenses
total $108,154 · program services $45,887 · management and general $58,794 · fundraising $3,473
Balance sheet
Part X, book values.
-
1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing
beginning of year $36,128 · end of year $142,056
-
2 · Savings and temporary cash investments
beginning of year $2,230,601 · end of year $2,646,625
-
3 · Pledges and grants receivable
beginning of year $207,964 · end of year $151,744
-
9 · Prepaid expenses and deferred charges
beginning of year $32,925 · end of year $31,061
-
10a · Land, buildings and equipment: cost or other basis
$14,271,116
-
10b · Land, buildings and equipment: accumulated depreciation
$302,399
-
10c · Land, buildings and equipment, net
beginning of year $13,201,128 · end of year $13,968,717
-
11 · Investments: publicly traded securities
beginning of year $663,887 · end of year $600,488
-
14 · Intangible assets
beginning of year $75,260 · end of year $74,266
-
15 · Other assets
beginning of year $1,919,736 · end of year $2,255,888
-
17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses
beginning of year $86,807 · end of year $245,623
-
19 · Deferred revenue
beginning of year $1,020,107 · end of year $152,529
-
23 · Secured mortgages and notes payable
beginning of year $145,975 · end of year $124,810
-
24 · Unsecured notes and loans payable
beginning of year $142,000 · end of year $142,000
-
25 · Other liabilities
beginning of year $28,178 · end of year $1,274,875
-
27 · Net assets without donor restrictions
beginning of year $15,498,344 · end of year $16,439,230
-
28 · Net assets with donor restrictions
beginning of year $1,446,218 · end of year $1,491,778
Mission and programs · 2024
Mission
To conserve unique and special places in the heart of the Southern Blue Ridge for the benefit of all.
-
LAND In 2024, Mainspring completed sixteen land transactions, protecting 1528 acres in Western North Carolina. - Two fee simple donations of property received & three fee simple land acquisitions - Three sales of conserved land, one to the USFS and two to the NC Wildlife Resources Commission - Four CEs donations received & two CEs purchased with grant and private funding - Two CEs sold to the NC Land and Water Fund By the end of 2024, Mainspring was responsible for monitoring 105 conservation easements totaling 16,184 acres. It owned 32 properties in fee simple, or 3,468 acres; 1,946 acres on 14 Mainspring properties were also under conservation easement. Volunteers contributed more than 725 hours to help improve the landscape through habitat management and recreational improvements.
Expenses $5,508,146 · Revenue $310,718
-
WATER As part of Mainsprings restoration program, Mainspring finished construction on a large wetland-complex project and conducted a feasibility study on six sites for potential restoration. Mainspring also held about 60 events around water, targeted at either youth education, citizen science, or community engagement.
-
CULTURAL HERITAGE Mainspring continued its efforts to conserve significant cultural heritage areas and to facilitate enhanced management and non-invasive research to better understand these resources. Through partnership with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Western Carolina University, the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, the NC Trail of Tears Association, and others, work continues to identify culturally significant unprotected sites and ensure they are conserved.
As filed on the 2024 return.
Listed in Part VII
-
Jordan Smith
Executive Director
- Total calculated
- $109,317
- From this org
- $96,302
- From related orgs
- $0
- Other
- $13,015
- Hours/week
- 40
-
David Adams
Chair
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 3
-
James Stork
Vice Chair
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Hope Huskey
Secretary
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Jim Garner
Treasurer
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 3
-
Jason P Love
Former Chair
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Chris Brouwer
Board Member
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Amanda Clapp
Board Member
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Barry Clinton
Board Member
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Fred Crawford
Board Member
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Anita Finger-Smith
Board Member
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Connie Haire
Board Member
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Bill Gibson
Board Member
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Ed Haight
Board Member
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Terrie Kelly
Board Member
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Lisa Leatherman
Board Member
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Ben Steere
Board Member
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those.
Grants on this return
No itemized grants to organizations on this return.
Taxable family on this return
Schedule R Parts I, III and IV, as filed. These record ownership and control, not shared board members or money moved.
Disregarded entities
Part I: entities that legally are the filer and file no return of their own.
-
Ela Dam Project LLC
River restoration · NC · income $615,015 · assets $889,247
Directly controlled by Mainspring Conservation Trust Inc
Provenance
- Return type
- form_990
- Tax year
- 2024
- Filed
- 22 October 2025
- IRS schema version
- 2024v5.2
- Source object
- 202512959349301206
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