Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE PARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL OF MINNESOTA EXISTS TO ACQUIRE, PROTECT AND ENHANCE CRITICAL LANDS FOR THE PUBLIC'S USE AND BENEFIT.
- Income
- $885,002
- Spending
- $833,515
- Spent on programs
- 79%
- Reserves
- 97 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 71%
- Employees
- 7
- Volunteers
- 100
- Highest pay
- $148,505, president/executive direct
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 90% of charities in its peer group (recreation and sports, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 97.0 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 3% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 6% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 17% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1579% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 8 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
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 98% of charities in its peer group (recreation and sports, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 2515 of 15 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
15 of 15Its accounts were audited 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)
- $658,915 spent. LAND PROTECTION: LAND ACQUISITION ON BEHALF OF PUBLIC AGENCIES IS A CORE FUNCTION OF THE PARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL OF MINNESOTA, SUPPORTED BY OUR DEDICATED LAND ACQUISITION FUND VALUED AT $5,280,553 MILLION AT THE END OF 2024. IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, THE PARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL FACILITATED FIVE LAND TRANSACTIONS PROTECTING 48.68 ACRES VALUED AT $2.36 MILLION FOR THE PUBLIC'S USE AND BENEFIT. P&TC IS ALSO INVOLVED IN FOUR ACTIVE PROJECTS THAT WILL PROTECT 68 ADDITIONAL ACRES, AND WE ARE HOLDING 105.5 ACRES IN TRUST FOR PUBLIC PARTNERS. SEE SCHEDULE O FOR ADDITIONAL PROGRAM LANGUAGE. IN 2024, P&TC PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE IN SECURING 2.1 MILES OF RIGHT-OF-WAY FOR THE SWEDISH IMMIGRANT REGIONAL TRAILCONNECTING TAYLORS FALLS AND SHAFER TO CENTER CITY, LINDSTROM, AND CHISAGO CITY. THIS MULTI-PARCEL ACQUISITION, REQUIRED P&TC TO PURCHASE LAND FROM THREE PRIVATE LANDOWNERS TO ENSURE THE ENTIRETY OF THE 20-MILE CORRIDOR LINKING THE SUNRISE PRAIRIE TRAIL IN THE WEST TO INTERSTATE STATE PARK IN THE EAST IS IN PUBLIC OWNERSHIP. PROJECT MANAGERS HOPE TO HAVE THE 2.1-MILE SEGMENT ACQUIRED BY P&TC DEVELOPED BY 2026 AND THE ENTIRE TRAIL COMPLETED BY 2028.P&TC'S CONSERVATION MODEL IS FUNDED BY OUR SAMUEL H. MORGAN LAND ACQUISITION FUND. USING THIS FUND, WE NEGOTIATE COMPLEX DEALS AND PURCHASE HIGH QUALITY LAND FROM WILLING SELLERS; WE THEN HOLD THIS LAND IN TRUST WHILE PARTNERING WITH A PUBLIC AGENCY TO CONVEY IT FOR A PARK OR TRAIL. ALL PROCEEDS ARE THEN REINVESTED TO SAVE THE NEXT CRITICAL LAND. TO DATE, NEARLY 10,000 ACRES HAVE BEEN ADDED TO MINNESOTA PARKS AND TRAILS THROUGH THIS INNOVATIVE MODEL. YOU CAN TOUR SOME OF P&TC'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE "IMPACT" SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.PARKSANDTRAILS.ORG AND IN THE 2024 ANNUAL REPORT.
- RESEARCH AND PUBLIC POLICY: PARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL PRIDES ITSELF ON MAKING SURE THAT POLICIES WE ADVOCATE FOR ARE INFORMED BY THE BEST AVAILABLE DATA, SCIENCE AND RESEARCH. IN 2024, P&TC ADVANCED SEVERAL STRATEGIC INITIATIVES THAT SUPPORT PARKS AND TRAILS PLANNING, ACCESS, AND POLICY. WE COMPLETED AND PUBLISHED FINAL VISITOR SURVEY REPORTS FOR MOUNTAIN BIKING DESTINATIONS AT GIANTS RIDGE AND THE REDHEAD TRAIL SYSTEM, SHARING INSIGHTS WITH PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS AT THE INAUGURAL ARROWHEAD COALITION OF TRAILS CONFERENCE. SEE SCHEDULE O FOR ADDITIONAL PROGRAM LANGUAGE.WE ALSO DID SOME INITIAL RESEARCH EXPLORING THE FEASIBILITY OF A MAJOR EXPANSION OF A NORTH SHORE STATE PARK AND EVALUATED POTENTIAL REPLACEMENT SITES FOR UPPER SIOUX AGENCY STATE PARK, A PARK THAT WAS DECOMMISSIONED IN 2024 ALL WITH THE GOAL OF PROVIDING FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HIGH-QUALITY PUBLIC ACCESS.OUR RESEARCH AND POLICY EFFORTS CONTINUED TO GAIN NATIONAL RELEVANCE IN 2024. WE COLLABORATED WITH IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY AND THE DES MOINES AREA METRO PLANNING ORGANIZATION TO FIELD-TEST TRAIL ROUGHNESS MEASUREMENTS USING OUR CUSTOM-BUILT RESEARCH BIKE, HELPING VALIDATE DATA AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL ROUGHNESS INDEX WITH THE GOAL OF ADVANCING NATIONAL STANDARDS. WE ALSO PROVIDED TECHNICAL GUIDANCE TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS INTERESTED IN REPLICATING OUR METHODS. ADDITIONALLY, WE STUDIED ALTERNATIVE MODELS FOR PROVIDING LOW-COST STATE PARK VEHICLE PERMITS THROUGH THE MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION PROCESSDRAWING ON POLICY MODELS FROM NINE STATESTO HELP INFORM MINNESOTA'S APPROACH TO EQUITABLE PARK ACCESS.FINALLY, AS THE GO TO SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON ALL THINGS PARKS AND TRAILS, P&TC DEVELOPS, MAINTAINS AND UPDATES SEVERAL FACT SHEETS THAT ARE USED BY DECISION MAKERS AND ARE ACCESSIBLE IN THE "OUR RESEARCH" PAGE OF THE "IMPACT" SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.PARKSANDTRAILS.ORG. A SUMMARY OF P&TC'S LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN "PUBLIC INVESTMENT" PAGE OF THE "IMPACT" SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE.
- OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: OF COURSE, COMMUNITY IS AT THE HEART OF P&TC'S WORK, AND WE ARE GRATEFUL TO HAVE A DEDICATED COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH US TO COORDINATE HANDS-ON PROJECTS IN THE PARKS AND TRAILS. IN 2024, P&TC WORKED WITH 48 VOLUNTEER-BASED FRIENDS GROUPS ACROSS THE STATE. P&TC BELIEVES THAT OUR PUBLIC LANDS ARE ENHANCED WHEN VOLUNTEERS ENGAGE IN HANDS-ON HABITAT RESTORATION PROJECTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO A COLLECTIVE LAND ETHIC. IN 2024, WE PROVIDED GRANTS TO THREE FRIENDS GROUPS DOING HABITAT RESTORATION PROJECTS. SEE SCHEDULE O FOR ADDITIONAL PROGRAM LANGUAGE.WE ALSO WORKED TO BOOST OPPORTUNITIES FOR FRIENDS GROUPS, LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES, AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO WORK TOGETHER TO ACCOMPLISH EVEN MORE. FINALLY, FOR THE FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW, P&TC HOSTED FOUR ONLINE FORUMS TO BRING FRIENDS GROUPS TOGETHER FOR VIRTUAL LEARNING AND SHARING ON TOPICS LIKE VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION, CITIZEN SCIENCE, ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA. YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION ON THE WORK WE DO WITH FRIENDS GROUPS BY VISITING THE "OUR FRIENDS" SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.PARKSANDTRAILS.ORG.
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 October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 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 October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since August 1983.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 November 4, 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.