Amah Mutsun Land Trust
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
See Schedule O.
- Income
- $2.9 million
- Spending
- $1.2 million
- Spent on programs
- 67%
- Reserves
- 25.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 77%
- Employees
- 47
- Volunteers
- 42
- Highest pay
- $102,487, in house counsel
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 86% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 25.5 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 4% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 58% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 17% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1567% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 3 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 32% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2510 of 10 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
0 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $834,215 spent. Amah Mutsun Land Trust (AMLT) partners with federal land agencies, the state of California, land trusts, conservation groups, nonprofits, foundations, and private donors to identify, nurture, and maintain traditional Amah Mutsun lands. These partnerships work to restore these lands to the pre-contact conditions achieved by traditional native stewardship practices over many thousands of years. AMLT also identifies traditional and sacred sites, works to determine the best land management practices (including prescribed fire/burn management techniques and traditional/ancestral flora maintenance ways) to restore traditional lands and waterways to a healthy, sustainable condition.
- The Amah Mutsun Land Trust (AMLT) is a native-led non-profit organization, established by the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band in 2014 to achieve the following vision: -Conserve and restore indigenous cultural and natural resources within the traditional territories of indigenous Mutsun and Awaswas peoples.-Steward our lands and waters; combining traditional resource and environmental management with contemporary approaches-ensuring a resilient future for all inhabitants of Popeloutchom and fulfilling our obligation to creator.-Research and teach the ways of nature-returning to the path of traditional ecological knowledge that our ancestors followed for thousands of years.
- AMLT has 5 major programs which all work toward the vision of restoring the Amah Mutsun people as environmental stewards of our ancestral territory. These programs include:-The native stewardship corps, a work training and cultural relearning program for Amah Mutsun Tribal Band members. The native stewards are the boots on the ground, implementing the research, conservation, education, and indigenous stewardship work to which AMLT is committed.-The coastal and ocean stewardship program, whic collaborates with agencies, institutions, and other California Indian tribes to restore Amah Mutsun stewardship of coastal resources.(Continued on Schedule O) -The cultural burning program, which restores the Amah Mutsun relationship to fire by building partnerships with other prescribed fire and cultural burning practitioners and training tribal members as wildland fire fighters.-The native plant restoration program, which cultivates culturally significant native plants for restoration projects and use in AMLT's ethnobotanical demonstration gardens.The cultural resources program, which ensures that cultural and sacred landscapes, as well as traditional sites, are not threatened or damaged.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Worth knowing.
Status was revoked on May 15, 2017 for not filing returns for three years, and reinstated on May 15, 2017.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since June 2018.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.