The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee

“Per the Bylaws, the Executive Committee may exercise the powers of the Board between Board meetings, except as may be limited by the North Carolina Nonprofit Corporation Act, or may make recommendations to the Board with respect to any matters that come before it. All actions taken by the Executive Committee shall be reported to the Board of Directors at the meeting following such action.”

“The 990 is initially reviewed by the Finance Manager and the Executive Director. It is then provided to the Finance Committee for review and approval. Finally, the 990 is sent to the Board of Directors prior to filing.”

“A conflict of interest statement is handed out to the Board of Directors in attendance at the first board meeting of the new year and are asked to complete it and hand it in at that time. The statement is mailed to any board members who missed that meeting. To ensure all the completed forms are returned within one month, a designated staff member follows up with anyone who has not submitted the signed form. Staff are given a Conflict of Interest statement to complete each January, or if new to the organization at their time of hire. The Finance Manager reviews the statements. In addition, the Executive Director monitors the statements for any possible conflicts of interest.”

“In the annual budgeting process, the Board approves a budget line for aggregate salary expense. Thereafter, the Executive Director gives consideration to comparable salary information for land trust nonprofit organizations with similar budgets, as available, and local job markets. The Executive Committee sets the Executive Director salary after a performance review and a check of comparable salary information for related land trust nonprofit organizations with similar budgets.”

“Forms 1023 and 990 are available upon request. The Form 990 is also available on the organization's website.”

“Governing documents, Conflict of Interest policy and audited financial statements are available upon request.”

“The Audit Committee directly reviews the audit.”

“Sch D, Ln 3&5 - Since U.S. GAAP does not provide specific guidance on the accounting treatment for conservation easements, land trust organizations in the U.S. use several different methods to account for the easements they hold. Mainspring has adopted one such method which is widely used by other land trusts. Under this method, conservation easements are not recognized as assets. Accordingly, easements received by donation are not recorded in income and easements purchased by the organization are recorded as expenses. Management believes that this method results in financial statements that most accurately reflect the organization's financial activities.”

“Return of contribution funds.”