Form 990 for tax year 2022

Totals

Total revenue

$1,868,662

Total expenses

$428,160

Contributions and grants received

$1,653,683

Grants paid

$0

Program service revenue

$103,376

Investment income

$129,525

Other revenue

-$17,922

Total assets, end of year

$14,842,982

Total liabilities, end of year

$11,232

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$14,831,750

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$271,167

Management and general expenses

$123,885

Fundraising expenses

$33,108

Program service expenses (Part III)

$271,167

Program services were 63.3% 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.

Mission and programs · 2022

• GREAT RIVERS LAND TRUST ACQUIRED THE PIASA HARBOR COMPLEX IN THE SPRING OF 2009. THE ACQUISITION CONSISTED OF APPROXIMATELY 55 ACRES, A 27,000 SQUAREFOOT MULTIPURPOSE BUILDING, A 5,500 SQUARE FOOT MAINTENANCE WAREHOUSE, AND THREE OTHER STRUCTURES, AS WELL AS; A GAS STATION CANOPY AND A 118 SLIPBOAD MARINA. BEYOND THE EXISTING BUILDINGS ARE 55 ACRES OF RIVERFRONT PROPERTY AT THE CONFLUENCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND PIASA CREEK JUST UPSTREAM FROM ALTON, ILLINOIS. GREAT RIVERS LAND TRUST ACQUIRED PIASA HARBOR WITH THE INTENT TO CLEANUP A PROPERTY THAT OVER THE DECADES HAD BECOME A SITE FOR ABANDONED AND DEGRADED BOATS AND EQUIPMENT. THE AREA WAS A BLIGHT ON THE MEETING OF THE GREAT RIVERS SCENIC BYWAY. THE MEETING OF THE GREAT RIVERS SCENIC BYWAY WAS THE FIRST FEDERALLY DESIGNATED SCENIC BYWAY IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS AND RUNS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FROM ITS CONFLUENCE AT THE ILLINOIS RIVER TO ITS MEETING WITH THE MISSOURI RIVER. DURING RECENT YEARS OF OWNERSHIP, GREAT RIVERS LAND TRUST HAS CLEANED UP ALL DERELICT BOATS, EQUIPMENT, AND VARIOUS UNWANTED DEBRIS AT THE SITE. THE 27,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING ALONG WITH OTHER DILAPIDATED STRUCTURES HAVE BEEN RAZED AND THE SITE HAS BEEN OPENED TO THE PUBLIC. THE GAS STATION HAS BEEN CLOSED AND REMEDIATED AND ALL BOAT SLIPS HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE SITE. WHILE THE MEETING OF THE GREAT RIVERS SCENIC BYWAY IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ROUTES IN ILLINOIS, AND POSSIBLY THE MIDWEST, IT HAS SOME CONSTRAINTS. THE FOUR LANE HIGHWAY RUNS PARALLEL WITH THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FROM ALTON TO GRAFTON. THE TRAVELER SEES THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI ON ONE SIDE AND THE MAJESTIC LIMESTONE BLUFFS COVERED WITH AN OAK HICKORY FOREST ON THE OTHER SIDE. THE PROBLEM FOR TRAVELERS IS THAT THERE ARE VERY FEW POINTS ALONG THE ROUTE TO LEAVE THE HIGHWAY AND INTERACT WITH THE RIVER AND SURROUNDING NATURAL AREAS. GREAT RIVERS LAND TRUST IS PROVIDING THAT OPPORTUNITY BY DEVELOPING A 55 ACRE RIVERFRONT PARK THAT WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. A PORTION OF THE PARK WILL FEATURE MATURE BOTTOM LAND TREES AND OPEN AREAS GIVING THE TRAVELER THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A PICNIC, FISH, OR JUST TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO ENJOY VIEWS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND ITS RIPARIAN SCENES. ALSO, IN THIS RIVERFRONT PARK, A TRAIL SYSTEM IS BEING DEVELOPED THAT WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HIKERS TO OBSERVE AN ACTIVE WETLAND CELL AND WALK THROUGH A RIVER BOTTOM FOREST. BIRD WATCHERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS WILL BE THRILLED WITH THE OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED BY THE ABUNDANCE OF MIGRATORY BIRDS AND THE NATURAL SETTING.

  Expenses $53,657

• THE PIASA CREEK WATERSHED PROGRAM IS A UNIQUE, TWENTY-YEAR PARTNERSHIP WITH GREAT RIVERS AND ILLINOIS-AMERICAN WATER COMPANY, WHICH HAS MET AND EXCEEDED ALL OF ITS GOALS. THE PROJECT WAS FEATURED AS A LEADING INNOVATIVE MODEL AT THE NATIONAL "WATER QUALITY TRADING FORUM" IN WASHINGTON D.C. THE EFFORT CONTINUES TO RECEIVE NATIONAL ATTENTION AS A WATERSHED MODEL. THE PIASA CREEK WATERSHED PROJECT REDUCES SEDIMENTATION IN THE 78,000 ACRE WATERSHED LOCATED IN PORTIONS OF JERSEY, MADISON, AND MACOUPIN COUNTIES IN ILINOIS. POSITIVE EFFECTS OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE STORMWATER CONTROL, REDUCTION OF FLASH FLOODING, ENHANCED FISH AND WILDLIFE HABITAT, AND PROTECTION OF SENSITIVE ECOSYSTEMS. THE PROJECT HAS MET AND EXCEEDED ALL OF ITS GOALS TO DATE. INTEREST AND PARTICIPATION OF THE PROJECT HAS BEEN EMBRACED ON A LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND NATIONAL SCALE.

  Expenses $38,637

• GREAT RIVERS LAND TRUST PRESERVES LAND AND WATERS THROUGH PROPERTY ACQUISITIONS, EASEMENTS, AND CONSERVATION PROJECTS. TO DATE, GREAT RIVERS PROTECTS OVER 4,000 ACRES OF LAND IN ILLINOIS AND MISSOURI THROUGH VARIOUS TOOLS USED BY LAND TRUST THROUGHOUT THE NATION. IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPERTIES OWNED, GREAT RIVERS PROVIDES STEWARDSHIP MAINTENANCE OF THE PROPERTIES INCLUDING MOWING, CONTROLLING INVASIVE SPECIES AND UPKEEP OF BUILDINGS. OTHER ACTIVITIES OF GREAT RIVERS HAVE INCLUDED TREE PLANTING, STREAM BUFFERS, TIMBER STAND IMPROVEMENT AND PRAIRIE PLANTINGS. GREAT RIVERS HAS PARTNERED WITH NUMEROUS ORGANIZATIONS AND ENTITIES.

  Expenses $178,873 · Revenue $227,812

As filed on the 2022 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

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.

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2022

Filed

15 November 2023

IRS schema version

2022v5.0

Source object

202323199349330927

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

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