The Stewardship Network
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
To connect, equip, and mobilize people and organizations to care for land and water in their communities.
- Income
- $916,661
- Spending
- $1.5 million
- Spent on programs
- 84%
- Reserves
- -0.8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 63%
- Employees
- 8
- Volunteers
- 295
- Highest pay
- $122,004, executive director and president
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
Weak: 30 out of 100. Higher than 2% of charities in its peer group (environment, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 40% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 66% of income.
Income trend
5 of 15Income fell 20% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1584% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 12 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 93% of charities in its peer group (environment, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 258 of 9 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)
- $661,516 spent. EQUIP Member Communities Program The Stewardship Network provides backbone support and technology systems to TSN Member Communities across the nation. Our approach builds inclusivity and diversity into land stewardship efforts and we fully embrace the unique supporting role we play in sparking change through these team efforts. In 2024, The Stewardship Network continued to refine and deliver a suite of support services to Member Communities, which include stewardship training and education coordinator support and leadership development event registration/communications structural technology support and communication services administrative, HR, and fiscal sponsorship services. In 2024, TSN grew its Gloves for Good program, which diverts lightly used work gloves out of the waste system, cleans them, and distributes them throughout our network. See Schedule O for further details. The work gloves are available for free, which is a huge benefit to recipients, as that is a constant requirement for on the ground stewardship activities. Finally, TSN had a special opportunity in 2024 to play an instrumental role in distributing 50,000 free hazelnut seedlings to sequester carbon, filter nutrients, and provide food across Michigan and Ohio.
- $389,266 spent. MOBILIZE Collaborative Stewardship Services The Stewardship Network was heavily involved in providing capacity support to several important collaborative stewardship projects, with partners across several states. These fiscally sponsored or grant-funded projects included Collaborating Well, California Landscape Stewardship Network, Duluth CISMA, Golden Gate Biosphere Network, Great Lakes Islands Alliance, Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition, and Above/Below. Additionally, we provided technical and backbone support for 30x30 Californias ongoing engagement activities including their Fall 2024 convening. Providing this type of support to the networks and projects that we work with solves an important infrastructural gap often encountered in our sector and allows collaboratives to take their work forward to solve on the ground stewardship challenges.
- $222,421 spent. CONNECT Learning Engagement Program The Stewardship Network has become an enormous nexus of relevant, specialized knowledge through decades of successful collaboration. While that hard-earned wisdom is leveraged all year long in service to our Member Communities, we continue to dedicate a meaningful portion of our energy to sharing these learnings with the widest audience possible. In 2024, these activities included TSN Conference 2024, TSN Spring Challenge, and TSN Monthly Webcasts. See Schedule O for further details. The Stewardship Network Conference 2024 connected, educated, and inspired 320 natural areas stewards from across North America. Presenters and participants came from a wide array of backgrounds, including private landowners, tribal members, government agency representatives, professional land managers, researchers, students, and more. This interdisciplinary conference continued its superb track record as one of the premier natural areas restoration conferences in the region, while involving an even greater diversity of presenters and participants than in previous years. Subject matter included advancements in ecological research, new tools and technologies, and collaborative processes. The Stewardship Network Spring Challenge 2024 logged its greatest level of engagement in program history work hours reported and connected participants from across the United States and Canada to care for natural areas in a collaborative conservation campaign. At the end of the TSNspring 2024, 13,521 participants had reported 58,906 hours of stewardship, removing invasive species, cleaning up natural areas, participating in restoration efforts, and otherwise improving the ecological health of important landscapes. These hours mark an impressive economic impact of donated time in the field, creating an enormous benefit to local governments, organizations, and private landowners. The 2024 value of volunteer hours, which is updated annually by the Independent Sector, was 34.79 per hour, providing a benchmark for the Challenges volunteer economic impact, which comes out to nearly 2 million. The TSNspring 2024 connected ecological stewards across the United States and Canada, elevated enthusiasm for caring for natural areas, and also provided a snapshot of the immense impact that seemingly small actions can make when many people pull together for the health and preservation of natural areas. The Stewardship Networks Monthly Webcast continued to grow in popularity in 2024, attended by natural areas professionals, researchers, students, volunteers, and landowners from around the world. Presentations included a range of topics including invasive species control, natural resource legislation changes, and best practices for natural areas management. Webcast recordings and additional information are available to the public on The Stewardship Network website.
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 October 13, 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 December 2004.
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 October 21, 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.