2021-08-25T05:27:00-07:00 2020-12-31 CORLISS & SOLOMON PLLC 242 CHARLOTTE ST SUITE 1 ASHEVILLE NC 28801 990 2020-01-01 562142199 Mainspring Conservation Trust Inc MAIN 8285242711 PO Box 1148 Franklin NC 287441148 Jordan Smith Executive Director 8285242711 2021-08-24 true Jordan Smith Stephen C Corliss P01333317 8282360206 2021-08-25 3 AAL1 IAL1 FAL1 2020 2022-09-23 18:48:47Z Jordan Smith PO Box 1148 Franklin NC 287441148 4050961 false X www.mainspringconserves.org X 1999 NC Located in the heart of the Southern Blue Ridge, the mission of Mainspring Conservation Trust is to conserve the waters, forests, farms and heritage of the Upper Little Tennessee and Hiwassee River Valleys. 16 16 16 254 0 0 5066647 2218607 85890 27517 65664 326463 28608 15104 5246809 2587691 50000 0 0 688591 637366 3811 0 70810 1891499 2602110 2633901 3239476 2612908 -651785 14056431 12371007 386332 881433 13670099 11489574 The mission of Mainspring Conservation Trust is to conserve the waters, forests, farms and heritage of the Upper Little Tennessee and Hiwassee River Valleys. We are dedicated to three core initiatives: conserve the land, restore the water, and connect the people to these valuable resources. false false 2964488 0 27517 Mainspring conserved 1,111 acres in 12 transactions. Mainspring also divested five conserved properties to partners, including 65 acres to the United States Forest Service and sold fifty acres of land to private buyers, after placing restrictions on the properties that limit development. Mainspring placed conservation easements through the NC Land & Water Fund on 2 properties. An 884 tract in Graham County containing 14,500 feet of trout streams and a 14 acre tract in Macon County that contains wetland habitats along the Cartoogechaye Creek. Mainspring continues to monitor 78 conservation easements (10,482 acres) and 25 fee simple properties (1,867 acres). Restoration: As part of Mainspring's restoration program, Mainspring improved 1,400 feet of streambank by planting trees and permitted construction. Beyond stabilizing streambanks by limiting erosion, these shrubs and trees will buffer stream temperatures during warm months, provide a source of food and habitat to fish and other aquatic organisms, and soak up excess nutrients from the land. Mainspring also held 47 events around water targeted to youth education, citizen science, and/or community engagement. These events included three trash pickups, 17 fish biomonitoring surveys, and 11 snorkeling events. Cultural Heritage: Mainspring continued its conservation efforts on prioritizing significant cultural heritage areas and purchased 40 acres of scenic pasture land that contained the last unconserved Cherokee Mound in the Little Tennessee Watershed. Mainspring also divested 16 acres to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, after it was protected through the USFS Community Forest Program. 2964488 true true false false false false true false false true true false false true true true true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false true false false true true false false false false false false false false true 22 0 true 16 true false false false false false false true 2 false false false false false false false false false X 16 16 false false false false false false false true true false false true true true true true true true false false NC GA FL X X X Teresa M Falzone 8285242711 557 E Main St Franklin NC 28744 Jordan Smith Executive Director 40.00 X 64371 0 10634 Sharon Taylor Former Executive Director 40.00 X 12201 0 7227 Jason Love Chair 3.00 X X 0 0 0 David Adams Vice Chair 3.00 X X 0 0 0 James Stork Secretary 3.00 X X 0 0 0 Rita Salain Treasurer 3.00 X X 0 0 0 Connie Haire Immediate Past Chair 3.00 X 0 0 0 Chris Brouwer At-large Executive Committee seat 3.00 X X 0 0 0 Fred Crawford Board Member 3.00 X 0 0 0 Jim Garner Board Member 2.00 X 0 0 0 Bill Gibson Board Member 2.00 X 0 0 0 Ed Haight Board Member 2.00 X 0 0 0 Russ Harris Board Member 2.00 X 0 0 0 Hope Huskey Board Member 2.00 X 0 0 0 Terrie Kelly Board Member 2.00 X 0 0 0 Lisa Leatherman Board Member 2.00 X 0 0 0 Ben Steere Board Member 2.00 X 0 0 0 John Strawn Board Member 2.00 X 0 0 0 76572 0 17861 false false false 789060 1429547 224550 2218607 Stewardship Contracts 541990 11989 0 0 Conservation Project Administration 541990 15528 0 0 27517 51460 0 51460 10641 10641 10641 10641 17003 1721270 1463270 17003 258000 275003 258000 0 17003 Miscellaneous 900099 4463 0 0 4463 4463 2587691 296158 0 72926 76989 67817 4755 4417 454282 321633 99132 33517 23950 16859 5108 1983 41685 29261 9056 3368 40460 28972 9642 1846 21040 0 21040 0 10159 0 10159 0 70712 64281 3364 3067 507 507 0 0 10570 5224 2387 2959 17715 9068 5412 3235 39834 30888 5154 3792 13835 12733 816 286 6279 769 4280 1230 32219 23450 8769 0 27701 20715 6404 582 Easement and Land Purchases 79809 79809 0 0 Below Book Value Land Sales 961127 961127 0 0 Devaluation from Easement Protections 1033536 1033536 0 0 Land Disbursement Expense 205528 205528 0 0 71539 52311 8700 10528 3239476 2964488 204178 70810 32457 41032 2008280 2682292 114459 13945 8970 0 16008 14854 8233292 110264 10606993 8123028 7161 1257 1262103 1494599 14056431 12371007 23252 26811 79263 69841 257609 247147 26208 537634 386332 881433 X 12476062 10195602 1194037 1293972 13670099 11489574 14056431 12371007 X -651785 114532 -970472 -672800 X X false true X true false X 0 2673742 4327922 1717851 5066647 2218607 16004769 0 0 2673742 4327922 1717851 5066647 2218607 16004769 1851313 14153456 39300 47506 63266 83001 62101 295174 0 28736 8137 3811 11271 4463 56418 16356361 0 0.86530 0.84560 X 0 0 0 Pt II Ln 10 Other Income Part II, Line 10 Description: Other Revenue 2016: 28736. 2017: 8137. 2018: 3811. 2019: 11271. 2020: 4463. RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED X X X X 66 8078.20 1 2 true 335.00 38744 true 1069446 115473 154262 32720 10159 1296302 919781 12008 180012 34575 7780 1069446 1004711 5593 -54168 28975 7380 919781 884752 9750 136642 19170 7263 1004711 831794 30500 56314 27300 6556 884752 0.14020 0.40550 0.45430 true false 208059 6843902 7051961 387115 19858 367257 72440 50612 21828 721776 39794 681982 8123028 Options and Escrow Deposits 10000 Endowment held by Community Foundation of WNC 1296302 Conservation Land Subject to Life Estate, Net 187047 Security Deposit 1250 1494599 Fiscal Agent Funds Payable 24834 Return of Contributions Liability 512800 537634 X 2314394 114532 114532 2199862 10159 377670 387829 2587691 1907454 672800 672800 1234654 10159 1994663 2004822 3239476 Pt II, Line 5 CEs are monitored by Mainspring's conservation easement monitoring staff at least annually with a report to Mainspring's files and the landowner. The handling of violations, monitoring and enforcement are covered in Mainspring's Stewardship Policy Manual. Pt II, Line 9 Conservation easements purchased are expensed at cost. Conservation easements received by donation are not recorded in the organization's books.(See Schedule O for further information.) Other Mainspring has three accounts at the Community Foundation of WNC. Two are for stewardship purposes (The Permanent and nonpermanent funds) and the income generated from those funds is for conservation easement stewardship, land acquisition and other conservation purposes consistent with the purpose and terms of the fund. The third account is the Mainspring Endowment Fund and funds generated from that fund can be used for operations. Pt X, Line 2 Mainspring is exempt from federal income taxes under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Under the Code, income from certain activities not related to the organization's tax-exempt purpose may be subject to taxation as unrelated business income. The organization had less than $1,000 of income from unrelated business activities in the 2020 fiscal year and was, therefore, not required to file Federal Form 990-T (Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return). The organization believes that it has appropriate support for all tax positions taken, and as such, does not have any uncertain tax positions that are material to the financial statements. Pt XI, Line 4b Land Sales -Net $258,000; Land donations $119,670 Pt XII, Line 2d Return of donations Pt XII, Line 4b Below book value land sales $961,129; Easement Devaluation $1,033,536 Pt II, Line 3 NA Clark & Company Board 53779 Landscaping services rendered false X 6 104330 Stock Market Value 0 X 4 119670 Appraisal X goods 2 550 Fair Market Value false true false Pt I Line 30b Mainspring does not carry conservation easements as assets on it's books. Donated conservation easements are not recognized in revenue. Other Line 17 Real estate - Other - Land donations are reported on this line. Other 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. Pt VI, Line 11b 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. Pt VI, Line 12c 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. Pt VI, Line 15a 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. Pt VI, Line 18 Forms 1023 and 990 are available upon request. The Form 990 is also available on the organization's website. Pt VI, Line 19 Governing documents, Conflict of Interest policy and audited financial statements are available upon request. Pt XII, Line 2c The Audit Committee directly reviews the audit. Other 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. Pt XI Correction to reflect prior year easement devaluation $970,472 Pt XI Return of contribtuion $672,800