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Forest Forward
Forest Forward reported $14.8 million in revenue and $3.4 million in expenses for calendar year 2024. Of every $100 it spent, $45.62 went to program services, $19.31 to management and general costs and $35.07 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 99.5% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $248,846 (President & CEO). 5 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 447% between 2021 and 2024. Source: Form 990, 2024.
Where $100 of spending went
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $3.4MFor context, the median across 479 covered community improvement & capacity building charities: $90.45 programs, $9.31 management, $0.24 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $15MOther revenue was negative: −$73,120. The bar shows the positive sources only.
The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | 2024 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 45.6% | 89.1% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 19.3% | 9.2% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 35.1% | 0.2% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.08 | $0.00 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 99.5% | 80.1% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 14.9% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 11.9% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $248,846 | $291,103 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 7.29% | 1.49% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 106.8 | 9.2 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 20 of 20 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
2024 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseFOREST THEATER PROJECT PRESERVING OUR CULTURAL IDENTITY AND PROVIDING OPPORTUNITY, THE FOREST THEATER, ONCE KNOWN FOR ITS MARQUEE AND BECKONING LIGHTS, WILL BE RESTORED, YIELDING 45,000 SQUARE FEET DEDICATED TO FOUR CRITICAL SPACES: CONCERT HALL CREATIVE LABORATORY-13,000 SQUARE FEET OF SPACE TO HOUSE MOVEMENT AND RECORDING STUDIO, FLEX SPACE, RESOURCE CENTER, SENSORY IMMERSION ROOM, ARTIST CLASSROOMS, AND LABS ROOF DECK STUDIO THEATER Forest Theater groundbreaking was in April 2024. This officially launched the beginning of an $80m renovation and restoration project, with opening slated for…
Highest reported compensation
2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President & CEO Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $248,846 | $0 | $0 | $248,846 |
| CHIEF ADV. OFFICER Listed in Part VII, 40.00 hrs/week | $173,077 | $0 | $0 | $173,077 |
| VP OF STRATEGY Listed in Part VII, 40.00 hrs/week | $163,269 | $0 | $0 | $163,269 |
| EXECUTIVE VP Listed in Part VII, 40.00 hrs/week | $125,115 | $0 | $0 | $125,115 |
| DIR OF OPERATIONS Listed in Part VII, 40.00 hrs/week | $101,731 | $0 | $0 | $101,731 |
5 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Forest Forward (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $249K (Part IX, line 5).
4 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
2024 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b20 · 20 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4No
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18Yes
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
- Employees Part I, line 58
- Volunteers Part I, line 6127
Largest outside contractors
2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| LINBECK CON-REAL FOREST THEATER LLC Construction | $4,085,779 |
| CDT ENVIRONMENTAL LP Environmental consulting | $1,543,039 |
| HKS Professional services | $1,068,115 |
| THE PROJECTS GROUP Project management | $364,567 |
| KIMLEY-HORN & ASSOCIATES Professional services | $347,638 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 5 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from Forest Forward's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Forest Forward, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 Forest Forward spent in 2024, $45.62 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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Questions people ask
How much of Forest Forward's spending goes to programs?
In calendar year 2024, Forest Forward reported that 45.6% of its $3.4 million in expenses went to program services, 19.3% to management and general and 35.1% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Forest Forward pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Forest Forward reported for one person in calendar year 2024 was $248,846, for the role of President & CEO (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Forest Forward get its money?
Of $14.8 million in revenue in calendar year 2024, 99.5% came from contributions and grants and 0.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Forest Forward a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 85-1581238 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- 2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202533189349315088 · read the filing · XML
- 2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202442909349300339 · read the filing
- 2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202323139349304842 · read the filing
- 2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202233199349314368 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 85-1581238: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.