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. A draft is emailed to the board and presented at the Finance Committee and the Board meetings. The final is also shared once it is filed.”

“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 misses 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 is 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.”

“Mainsprings Executive Committee does an annual performance evaluation of the E.D. and uses LTA and industry benchmarks to determine salary increase. The Board of Directors uses an executive session at its February board meeting to present & discuss the E.D. performance review and vote on an annual increase.”

“Form 1023 is available upon request. Forms 990 are available on the IRS website, the websites of many charity watch organizations, such as Guidestar, and MCTs 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 organizations financial activities.”

“Contract Labor 178616. 173472. 5144. 0.”

“Professional Fees - Land Steward & Annual Report 32667. 32667. 0. 0.”

“Professional Fees - Strategic Planning 26290. 72. 26218. 0.”

“Professional Fees - Other 4709. 2646. 1978. 85.”

“Project Management Pass-through Expense 92064. 92064. 0. 0.”

“Design/Engineering 64244. 64244. 0. 0.”

“Ela Dam - Project Management 69393. 69393. 0. 0.”

“Ela Dam - Design/Build 218157. 218157. 0. 0.”

“Ela Dam - Consulting 78260. 78260. 0. 0.”