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CHARITY REVIEW
Issued: September 2025 Expires: September 2027

Conservation Northwest

Standards Not Met
Standards Not Met
1 6 11 14 16 17
(206) 675-9747
1829 10th Avenue West, Suite B
Seattle, WA, 98119
https://conservationnw.org
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Standards For Charity Accountability

Governance

  1. Board Oversight
  2. Board Size
  3. Board Meetings
  4. Board Compensation
  5. Conflict of Interest

Measuring Effectiveness

  1. Effectiveness Policy
  2. Effectiveness Report

Finances

  1. Program Expenses
  2. Fundraising Expenses
  3. Accumulating Funds
  4. Audit Report
  5. Detailed Expense Breakdown
  6. Accurate Expense Reporting
  7. Budget Plan

Fundraising & Info

  1. Truthful Materials
  2. Annual Report
  3. Website Disclosures
  4. Donor Privacy
  5. Cause Marketing Disclosures
  6. Complaints

Conservation Northwest does not meet the following 6 Standards for Charity Accountability:

Standard 1 (Oversight of Operations and Staff)
Organizations shall have a board of directors that provides adequate oversight of the charity's operations and its staff. Indication of adequate oversight includes, but is not limited to, regularly scheduled appraisals of the CEO's performance, evidence of disbursement controls such as board approval of the budget, fund raising practices, establishment of a conflict of interest policy, and establishment of accounting procedures sufficient to safeguard charity finances.

Conservation NW does not meet this Standard because its board of directors does not:

  • Review the performance of the Chief Executive Officer at least once every two years.

Standard 6 (Board Policy on Effectiveness)
Have a board policy of assessing, no less than every two years, the organization's performance and effectiveness and of determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

Conservation NW does not meet this Standard because:

  • The organization's effectiveness assessment policy does not specify that this assessment will take place at least once every two years.

Standard 11 (Financial Statements)
Make available to all, on request, complete annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. When total annual gross income exceeds $1 million, these statements should be audited in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. For charities whose annual gross income is less than $1 million, a review by a certified public accountant is sufficient to meet this standard. For charities whose annual gross income is less than $250,000, an internally produced, complete financial statement is sufficient to meet this standard.

Conservation NW does not meet this Standard because:

  • Although the organization reports revenue of $3,899,391 for the year ended March 31, 2024, Conservation NW states it does not have audited financial statements.

Standard 14 (Budget)
Have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year, outlining projected expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration.

Conservation NW does not meet this Standard because, when the organization provided 2025 budget information, it indicated that the budget:

  • Included total projected program service expenses, however, did not break these expenses down by major program category (habitat connectivity, protecting wildlands, resotring wildlife, and other programs).

Standard 16 (Annual Report)
Have an annual report available to all, on request, that includes: (a) the organization's mission statement, (b) a summary of the past year's program service accomplishments, (c) a roster of the officers and members of the board of directors, (d) financial information that includes (i) total income in the past fiscal year, (ii) expenses in the same program, fund raising and administrative categories as in the financial statements, and (iii) ending net assets.

Conservation NW does not meet this Standard because the 2023 annual report did not include:

  • Total expenses for each program in the same categories that appear in the organization’s financial statements (habitat connectivity, protecting wildlands, resotring wildlife, and other programs).
  • Total end of year net assets.

Standard 17 (Web Site Disclosures)
Include on any charity websites that solicit contributions, the same information that is recommended for annual reports, as well as the mailing address of the charity and electronic access to its most recent IRS Form 990.

Conservation NW does not meet this Standard because the organization’s website, https://conservationnw.org, does not include all of the recommended information for those charity websites that solicit for donations. Specifically, it does not include:

  • Electronic access to the organization’s IRS Form 990 for the year ended March 31, 2024.

The BBB Wise Giving Alliance requested but did not receive complete information from the organization and is unable to verify the organization's compliance with the following Standard(s) for Charity Accountability: 3, 15, 19

Conservation Northwest meets the remaining 11 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Stated Purpose:
"to protect, connect and restore wildlands and wildlife from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies."

Year, State Incorporated:
1989, WA

Conservation Northwest (Conservation NW) reports that it works to restore wildlands and wildlife through habitat corridors, wilderness conservation, reforestation, and endangered species recovery across the Northwest region. The organization’s Protecting Wildlands program conserves blocks of forest and wildland to provide habitat for the long-term survival and recovery of imperiled wildlife while also offering places to hike, camp, climb, ski, fish, hunt, and enjoy. Conservation NW’s Connecting Habitat program works to connect wildlife corridors for animals’ daily life and seasonal migrations. The Restoring Wildlife program collaborates with government agencies to restore threatened species, including wolves, lynx, fishers, and grizzlies. Conservation NW’s Sagelands Heritage program protects and connects shrub-steppe landscapes of the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington. The program improves ecosystem resilience and habitat connectivity by monitoring wildlife, removing derelict fencing and installing wildlife-friendly fencing, virtual fence projects, planting sagebrush in burned areas, and constructing climate-smart structures to restore floodplains. In 2023, the organization reports it covered 800,000 acres with virtual fencing and removed 500 miles of old or burned fence.

For the year ended March 31, 2024, Conservation Northwest's program expenses were:

Habitat connectivity $1,027,807
Protecting wildlands $871,441
Other programs $639,209
Restoring wildlife $439,955
Total Program Expenses $2,978,412

Chief Executive
Mitch Friedman, Executive Director

Compensation*
$161,626

Chair of the Board
Matt Uyttendaele

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Retired

Board Size
15

Paid Staff Size
28

*2023 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.

Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Grant proposals, Internet, Direct mail appeals, Planned giving arrangements, Cause-related marketing (affinity credit cards, consumer product sales, etc.)

Fundraising costs were 13% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $3,872,960, are donations received as a result of fundraising activities.)

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.

The following information is based on Conservation Northwest's IRS Form 990 for the year ended March 31, 2024.

Source of Funds
Contributions $3,574,140
Government grants $262,973
Special events $35,847
Investment income $29,337
Unrealized losses on investments, net $-2,906
Total Income $3,899,391

Programs: 77% Fundraising: 13% Administrative: 10%

Total Income $3,899,391
Total expenses: $3,863,223
  Program expenses $2,978,412
  Fundraising expenses $508,457
  Administrative expenses $376,354
  Other expenses $0
Income in Excess of Expenses $36,168
Beginning Net Assets $2,000,275
Other Changes In Net Assets $0
Ending Net Assets $2,036,443
Total Liabilities $202,829
Total Assets $2,239,272

An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus.

This report is not to be used for fundraising or promotional purposes.

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Report completed by:
BBB Wise Giving Alliance