Charity Navigator's ratings previously did not consider Leadership & Adaptability, Culture & Community, or Impact & Measurement. The historic rating mainly reflects a version of today’s Accountability and Finance score. More information on our previous rating methodologies can be found on our rating methodology page.
Rating histories are available for a growing number of rated organizations. Check back later to see if this organization has a rating history!
This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.
Majority Independent Board Members - 100% independent members
10 out of 10 points
Industry professionals strongly recommend an independent governing body to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters. We check to see that a majority of board members are identified as independent on their tax form.
Source: IRS Form 990
Independent Board Size - 14 independent members
10 out of 10 points
Industry professionals strongly recommend an independent governing body to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters. For most organizations, we check to see if the organization has at least three independent board members. For large, donor-funded organizations, we check to see if the organization has at least five independent board members
Source: IRS Form 990
Material Diversion of Assets - None
10 out of 10 points
A diversion of assets — any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft — also can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We review the charity's most recent IRS Form 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets.
Source: IRS Form 990
Tax Form Disclosures and Policies
Full Credit
Partial Credit
No Credit
Website Listed on Tax Form - Listed
3 out of 3 points
Charity Navigator looks for a website on the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency metric.
Nonprofits act in the public trust and reporting publicly on activities is an important component.
Source: IRS Form 990
Conflict of Interest Policy - Listed
7 out of 7 points
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a conflict of interest policy on the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy protects the organization and by extension those it serves, when it is considering entering into a transaction that may benefit the private interest of an officer, director and/or key employee of the organization.
Source: IRS Form 990
Whistleblower Policy - Missing
0 out of 7 points
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a whistleblower policy per the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report financial or other types of mismanagement.
Source: IRS Form 990
Document Retention and Destruction - Missing
0 out of 7 points
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a document retention and destruction policy per the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy establishes guidelines for the handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promote data integrity.
Source: IRS Form 990
Documents Board Meeting Minutes - Yes
3 out of 3 points
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the IRS Form 990 that the organization has this process in place as an accountability and transparency measure.
An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference.
Source: IRS Form 990
Website Disclosures
Full Credit
Partial Credit
No Credit
Tax Form Posted on Nonprofit's Website as stated on Form 990 - Missing
0 out of 3 points
For almost all charities, we check the charity's IRS Form 990 to see if it discloses that the Form 990 is available on the charity's website. As with the audited financial statement, donors need easy access to this financial report to help determine if the organization is managing its financial resources well.
Source: IRS Form 990
Financial Metrics
Full Credit
Partial Credit
No Credit
Liabilities to Assets: Ratio - 3.58%
15 out of 15 points
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent IRS Form 990). This ratio is an indicator of an organization's solvency and/or long-term sustainability.
Source: IRS Form 990
Program Expense: Ratio - 70.72%
25 out of 25 points
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three IRS Forms 990). This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver.
Source: IRS Form 990
Additional Information
Total Revenue and Expenses - Data Available
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Click or hover over the bar to see exact $ amount
Salary of Key Persons - Data Available
Presented here are up to five of this organization's highest compensated employees. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses, and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Zoe Rinker, Executive Di
$68,000
Benjamin Baxter, Board Member
$0
Paul Daniels, Board Member
$0
Matthew Hallett, Vice Preside
$0
Ellen Harris, Treasurer
$0
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2022
IRS Published Data (Business Master File) - Data Available
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
Data Sources (IRS Forms 990) - Data Available
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage accountability and finance data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). Simply enter the organization's name (Savannah Tree Foundation Inc.) or EIN (581494721) in the 'Search Term' field.
Impact & Measurement
Score
100
This beacon estimates the actual impact a charity has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.
$27,001 total costs / 245 years of personal carbon emissions offset = roughly $110 offsets one year of personal carbon emissions for a typical American. [2021 USD]
Program Context
This program plants trees to reforest or afforest land in order to sequester carbon to avert greenhouse gas emissions.
Data Time Period
1/1/21 to 12/31/21
Benchmark for Scoring
Impact scores of reforestation and afforestation programs are based on a comparison to the social cost of carbon. The social cost of carbon represents the cost to society of emitting a metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. If carbon was efficiently priced in a carbon market, our benchmark of $3888 is approximately what the typical American would pay each year to maintain their current level of emissions, in 2021 USD. Nonprofits score 100 points if they can offset the carbon emissions of a typical American for less than $2916 in 2021 USD. They score 80 points if they can do so for between $2916 (i.e. 75% of the benchmark) and $4860 (i.e. 125% of the benchmark). If a nonprofit reports impact but doesn't meet the benchmark for cost-effectiveness, it earns a score of 65. This program may offset a typical American's personal carbon emissions for less than 75% of the social cost of those emissions.
Methodology
This impact score was determined through the Afforestation & Reforestation methodology which is fully detailed in the Charity Navigator Guide to Ratings. Analysis conducted in 2023 by Charity Navigator using data submitted by the nonprofit, theory and evidence from scientific research studies, and public datasets.
Data Source
The nonprofit submitted data on how many hectares of land it reforested or afforested, as well as general information on the type of land on which the nonprofit planted.
Measurement
Unscored
0% of Impact & Measurement score
Culture & Community
Not Currently Scored
Savannah Tree Foundation Inc. cannot currently be evaluated by our Culture & Community methodology because we have not received data from the charity regarding its Constituent Feedback or Equity Practices strategies.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's mission.
THE SAVANNAH TREE FOUNDATION PROTECTS AND GROWS CHATHAM COUNTY'S URBAN FOREST THROUGH TREE PLANTING, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND ADVOCACY.
Vision Statement
10 out of 10 points
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's vision.
To inspire and educate our community to create and sustain a healthy urban forest today, tomorrow, a
Strategic Goals
20 out of 20 points
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Focus Savannah Tree Foundation programming to ensure all activities contribute to mission.
Goal Two: Elevate trees as an integral policy priority in Chatham County.
Goal Three: Build out effective organizational structure in order to achieve goals, including strengthening the board and expanding staff.
Leadership
30 out of 30 points
Full Credit
Partial Credit
No Credit
Investment in Leadership Development
15 out of 15 points
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development.
STF hosts annual board training seminars for its board of directors, including topics such as effective fundraising, board service 101, an more.
STF regularly invests in staff training in fundraising, arboriculture, and best practices in nonprofit management.
STF pays for staff membership in local leadership associations, such as the Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Georgia Arborist Association.
External Focus on Mobilizing Mission
15 out of 15 points
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
Strategic Partnerships
Collaborative Engagement
Thought Leadership
Social Promotion
Civic Engagement
Public Policy Advocacy
Adaptability
30 out of 30 points
Full Credit
Partial Credit
No Credit
Adaptability Statement
30 out of 30 points
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
As the world continues to recover from the pandemic, Savannah Tree Foundation continues to adapt to our new normal. For us, that has involved diversifying our donor base to include more corporations, as we had previously relied on major donors for a large portion of our budget. 2022 saw our corporate funding increase nearly 50% over 2021.
Another issue we face is increasingly limited public land on which to plant. While we continue to work with municipalities to plant in common areas, we have pivoted to more tree giveaways. That allows us to access the 85% of Chatham County land that is privately owned.