This week we are beginning a series of blogs that will look at the finances of the various environmental activist groups that are involved in lawsuits that have had and will have a profound effect on our islands.
We will look at Form 990, the form that non-profit, tax-exempt organizations must file with the Internal Revenue Service.
In these blogs, we will be all about the numbers only, such as income, expenses, salaries, and program expenses.
We will present the numbers without comment, though I?m sure many of you will find, as I have, that some of those numbers are attention getting. Others are just?.well, interesting.
The numbers is this blog don?t reflect everything on the tax return, but there will be a link to the entire Form 990 for each group if you are interested in digging further.
We?re starting with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which is the tie that binds the others. SELC is based in Charlottesville, Va., with an office in Chapel Hill, N.C., and is representing the other environmental groups in three major lawsuits in the federal courts that have or will affect our life and lifestyle and economy.
All three are in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. They are:
- A lawsuit Defenders of Wildlife and the National Audubon Society filed in 2011 against the National Park Service for its lack of an ORV management plan, which the groups claimed resulted in inadequate protections for nesting shorebirds and turtles. It was settled by a 2008 consent decree but is still being ?overseen? by federal Judge Terrence Boyle.
- A lawsuit that Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Refuge Association filed against the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and others to stop the plan to replace the aging Bonner Bridge over Oregon Inlet. The action is now awaiting a decision by federal Judge Louise Flanagan.
- A lawsuit in which Defenders of Wildlife and the National Parks Conservation Association are defendant-intervenors on the side of the federal government. In this case, filed in February 2012, the Cape Hatteras Preservation Alliance sued the Department of Interior, the National Park Service, and others to overturn the Park Service?s ORV plan and final rule. This case is currently also before federal Judge Terrence Boyle.
In the coming weeks, we?ll examine the IRS returns of the National Audubon Society, Defenders of Wildlife, the National Wildlife Refuge Association, and the National Parks Conservation Association.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SELC 2011 FORM 990
The 2011 form covers the tax year beginning on April 1, 2011 and ending on March 31, 2012. It is the latest one available.
In it, SELC describes its mission as ?to protect the environment of the southeast United States through law and policy.?
Here are some numbers:
- Total Revenue: $13.8 million. Down from 16.1 million in 2010.
- Total Expenses: $12 million. Up from $10.7 million in 2010.
- Revenue less Expenses (Profit): $1.7 million. Down from $5.3 million in 2010.
Total salaries, benefits, and other compensation: $8.4 million. Up from $7.8 million the previous year.
Top 10 Salaries (base compensation, bonus, retirement, deferred compensation, and non-taxable benefits):
- Frederick Middleton III, director, $343,257.
- Jeffrey M. Gleason, deputy director, $226,757.
- Marie Hawthorne, director of development, $190,214.
- Derb Carter, director of North Carolina office, $176,303.
- David Pope, director of Georgia office, $171,513.
- Holly Hueston, treasurer, $138,538.
- John Suttles, senior attorney, $145,723.
- David Farren, senior attorney, $149,353.
- David Carr, general counsel, $142,608.
- Oliver Pollard, senior attorney, $147,342.
There are 27 voting members of the board of directors, including Middleton, the director. Twenty-six are listed as ?independent.? Those 26 are not paid.
Total assets: $32.1 million. Up from $30 million in the previous year.
Total program expenses (presumably lawsuits): $10.1 million.
Expert Testimony: $102,000.
Contributions, gifts, and grants: $12.6 million.
Total public support for 2007-2012: $61.4 million.
Advertising promotion: $65,000.
Program communications (presumably public relations): $290,000.
Lobbying expenses from 2008-2011: $2.7 million.
The return notes that SELC is involved in 67 lawsuits, including the three listed above. All of the litigation is detailed at the end of the Form 990.
No attorneys? fees were sought or recovered during the tax year for the three cases involving our area. In fact, no attorneys? fees were sought or recovered for most of the cases.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Click here to see all 43 pages of the SELC?s most recent 990.
