CFC # 81031

American Land Conservancy (ALC) works nationwide to protect wildlife habitat, land and water resources, working farms and ranches, and America’s beloved wild places. We also create new opportunities for outdoor recreation, and our projects spur nature-based economic opportunities in local communities.

ALC is small but highly effective, conserving more than 274,000 acres nationwide since 1990. Most recently we conserved a historic and ecologically significant 12,000-acre ranch in northeast Nevada, a 1,500-acre wilderness island in the Mississippi River, and a 6,000-acre working ranch in California's Central Valley. In 2006 we received California’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, the state’s highest environmental honor, in recognition of our work on the 82,000-acre Hearst Ranch Project, one of the largest conservation projects in California's history.

Active projects include conserving a 73,000-acre island in Alaska's Kodiak Archipelago (containing 16 wild salmon streams and pristine habitat for majestic Kodiak brown bears), protecting a world-renowned salmon stream on Kodiak Island, and protecting critical land and water resources, endangered species habitat, and outdoor recreation areas in California, Illinois, Missouri, and other states.

Whether its endangered species habitat along the Mississippi River or working ranchlands in the Central Valley ALC works to ensure America’s great landscapes and treasured wild places will still be here for future generations to enjoy.

We appreciate your consideration, and thank you for being a partner in our work to conserve America’s unique natural heritage!

Thank you for your support!

About ALC's AFR rate:
Because ALC is a land conservation organization, its primary mission involves land transactions, and a high percentage of its fundraising costs are applied to securing funds to purchase land. Because land transactions often take multiple years to complete, funds raised in one year may not be received until several years later when the transaction is finalized. Also, some of the funds raised are deposited directly into escrow and never appear on ALC’s financial statements as revenue.

CFC calculates the AFR rate as total fundraising and administrative costs divided by revenue only as it appears on the IRS Form 990. Because acquisition funds usually don’t appear on the 990s, the ratio of fundraising costs to funds raised is highly skewed.

In 2008, for example, ALC raised $2.9 million dollars for land transactions, but this does not appear as revenue on the Form 990. Were these funds counted, ALC’s APR would be 14%. In addition, the ratio of ALC’s fundraising expenses compared to program expenses (rather than revenue) remains fairly consistent year to year, and is about 10%.