Natural Areas Conservancy Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE NATURAL AREAS CONSERVANCY CHAMPIONS URBAN NATURAL AREAS IN NEW YORK CITY AND ACROSS THE NATION THROUGH INNOVATIVE RESEARCH, PARTNERSHIPS, AND ADVOCACY. WE INCREASE THE HEALTH AND RESILIENCE OF URBAN FORESTS AND WETLANDS, CATALYZE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE AND NATURE, AND STRENGTHEN THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORKFORCE.WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION (NYC PARKS), WE SEEK TO ENSURE THE HIGH-QUALITY MANAGEMENT OF NYC'S 20,000 ACRES OF FORESTS AND WETLANDS. DRIVING THE NAC'S WORK IS THE RECOGNITION THAT NATURAL AREAS ARE INCREASINGLY VITAL TO SUSTAINING AIR QUALITY, IMPROVING PUBLIC HEALTH, PROVIDING NEW YORKERS WITH ACCESS TO NATURE, AND STRENGTHENING OUR COMMUNITIES. OUR WORK INCLUDES CONDUCTING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, RESTORING NATURAL HABITATS, DEVELOPING TOOLS TO INFORM DATA-DRIVEN MANAGEMENT, AND INCREASING AWARENESS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PUBLIC TO EXPERIENCE NYC'S ABUNDANT NATURE.
- Income
- $2.9 million
- Spending
- $3.4 million
- Spent on programs
- 74%
- Reserves
- 12.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 83%
- Employees
- 39
- Volunteers
- 500
- Highest pay
- $258,996, executive dir.
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
Good: 70 out of 100. Higher than 39% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 12.5 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 3% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 17% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 26% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1574% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 17 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 60% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2528 of 28 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)
- $1.1 million spent. RESEARCH & CONSERVATION: IN 2024, THE NAC'S FORESTS IN CITIES PROGRAM GREW TO REPRESENT THE WORK OF 21 CITIES WITH THE ADDITION OF TWO NEW CITY TEAMS. WE HOSTED A WORKSHOP IN MIAMI, FL, TO SHARE BEST PRACTICES AND SHOWCASE INNOVATION. WE STUDIED THE CAPACITY OF FORESTED NATURAL AREAS TO ABSORB STORMWATER AND REDUCE RUNOFF. NAC LED A CITYWIDE EFFORT, ALONG WITH NYC DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION STAFF SCIENTISTS TO COLLECT ECOLOGICAL DATA ON THE HEALTH AND EXTENT OF NEW YORK CITY'S NATURAL AREAS, LAST COMPLETED IN 2014. THE EFFORT INVOLVED DATA COLLECTION IN 77 PARKS ACROSS ALL 5 BOROUGHS AND WILL PROVIDE CRITICAL INFORMATION TO EVALUATE CHANGES IN NYC'S ENVIRONMENT OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O) WE ASSESSED CHANGES IN THE HEALTH OF NYC'S NATURAL AREAS OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS. WE LAUNCHED A NATIONAL RESEARCH EFFORT TO MAP NATURAL AREAS IN 21 CITIES.
- $1.0 million spent. NYC PUBLIC PROGRAMS: IN 2024, OUR WORKFORCE AND INTERNSHIP PROGRAM, HOSTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK (CUNY), LAUNCHED OUR NEW YEAR-ROUND URBAN NATURE, ECOLOGY, STEWARDSHIP, AND TRAINING (NEST) EFFORT. THIS FELLOWSHIP PROVIDES OVER 800 HOURS OF TECHNICAL TRAINING, STEWARDSHIP ACTIVITIES, AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO MAKE OUR FELLOWS COMPETITIVE FOR EARLY-CAREER POSITIONS IN NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. OUR CUNY STUDENT INTERNS SUPPORTED STAFF SCIENTISTS FROM THE NAC AND THE NYC PARKS & RECREATION DEPARTMENT (NYC PARKS) ON THE 10-YEAR RE-COLLECTION OF ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT DATA IN NYC FORESTS AND WETLANDS, AS WELL AS TRAIL MAPPING IN FLOYD BENNETT FIELD AND NATIVE SEED PROPAGATION. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)WE ALSO SERVED 15 HIGH SCHOOL INTERNS WITH OUR EXPANDED STUDENT URBAN NATURE (SUN) HIGH SCHOOL PAID INTERNSHIP PROGRAM, SERVING LOCATIONS IN BOTH QUEENS AND STATEN ISLAND. OUR HIGH SCHOOL INTERNS PRESENTED THEIR RESEARCH PROJECTS ON NYC FORESTS AND WETLANDS AT A SYMPOSIUM AT THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY WITH NEARLY 300 OTHER HIGH SCHOOL STEM STUDENTS. ADDITIONALLY, THE NAC'S TRAILS TEAM CONTINUED TO INCREASE ACCESS TO NEW YORK CITY'S 300 MILES OF NATURE TRAILS WITH MORE PROGRAMMING FOR SEASONAL NATURAL AREAS TOURS AND WEEKLY TRAININGS, MADE POSSIBLE BY EXPANDING THE TEAM WITH A TRAILS VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR. WE ALSO HOSTED OUR 6TH ANNUAL TRAIL TECHNIQUES TRAINING FOR PRACTITIONERS AROUND THE CITY WHO WORK ON TRAILS AND PROVIDED A WEEK-LONG TRAINING AND SYMPOSIUM TO MEMBERS OF NYC PARKS AND OTHER LOCAL CONSERVANCIES. FINALLY, WE WORKED WITH OVER 400 VOLUNTEERS, WHO COMPLETED MORE THAN 2,300 HOURS OF WORK TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO NYC'S NATURAL AREAS.
- $351,984 spent. COMMUNICATIONS & EXTERNAL AFFAIRS: 2024 MARKED A YEAR OF CONTINUED GROWTH FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS & EXTERNAL AFFAIRS TEAM. THE NAC LAUNCHED A NEW PHOTO-RICH AND USER-FRIENDLY WEBSITE THAT HAS ENCOURAGED A SENSE OF COMMUNITY AMONG PARTNERS AND PRACTITIONERS AND HAS RESULTED IN MORE THAN A DOUBLING OF SITE VISITS AND A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN BOUNCE RATES. WE RELEASED A POLICY REPORT ON THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES SURROUNDING WETLANDS MITIGATION BANKING IN NEW YORK CITY, WHICH THE TEAM PRESENTED AT SEVERAL PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES AND WEBINARS. WE HAVE ALSO EXPANDED OUR COALITION WORK, PLAYING A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THE CREATION OF THE URBAN FOREST PLAN AND IN THE POLICY AND COMMUNICATION EFFORTS OF THE PLAY FAIR COALITION. (CONTINUED ON SCH O)ADDITIONALLY, WE CREATED AN IMPACT VIDEO HIGHLIGHTING THE MISSION AND WORK OF THE NAC, WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO A MARKED INCREASE IN INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS DURING OUR ANNUAL NIGHT FOR NATURE GALA. AND WE WERE ACCEPTED INTO A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT (PSA) ACCELERATOR PROGRAM, WHERE WE DEVELOPED A CITYWIDE PSA CAMPAIGN WITH VOLUNTEER ADVERTISING PROFESSIONALS TO HIGHLIGHT NYC'S 300 MILES OF NATURE TRAILS. FINALLY, WE RELEASED A COMPREHENSIVE MESSAGING PLATFORM THAT PROVIDES GUIDANCE AND TALKING POINTS TO STAFF SO THAT THE NAC'S EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE CONSISTENT AND IMPACTFUL. WE CONTINUED TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE NAC'S INTERNAL TEAMS THROUGH COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT THE LATEST ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT AND A REVAMPED YEAR-END FUNDRAISING APPEAL.
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 2024.
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 2014.
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.
Could it be confused with another charity? Worth knowing.
A much larger organization has a similar name: Nature Conservancy (Arlington, VA), EIN 53-0242652. If that is the one you meant, check the EIN before giving.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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.