Contents
Entity Profile
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonprofit land conservation, stewardship, community building |
| Domain | forterra.org |
| Jurisdiction | Washington State (HQ: Seattle, WA 98194) |
| Hosting | Vultr VPS (66.42.77.201), GoDaddy DNS |
| Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online) | |
| CRM | EveryAction/Bonterra (NGP VAN) |
| EIN | 94-3112461 |
| WA UBI | 601185304 |
| WA Charity ID | 0456443 |
| Employees | ~83 |
| Revenue (FY2024) | $12.8M |
| Total Assets | $45.5M |
| Acres Conserved | 280,240+ (since 1989) |
| Accreditation | Land Trust Accreditation Commission (Feb 2023 – Feb 2028) |
Budget Signals
Revenue composition (FY2024)
| Source | Amount | % of Total | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government grants/contracts | $7,100,000 | 55% | +157% |
| Contributions (incl. gov't) | $11,622,788 | 90.8% | — |
| Program services | $788,201 | 6.2% | — |
| Investment income | $184,444 | 1.4% | — |
| Rental property income | $129,595 | 1.0% | — |
| Total Revenue | $12,806,098 | 100% | — |
Executive compensation (FY2024)
| Name | Title | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Rachel Valdez | Chief Operating Officer | $243,395 |
| Kristi England | Chief Governance & Innovation Officer | $240,270 |
| Michelle Connor | President & CEO | $231,150 |
| David Leon | VP, Real Estate | $229,665 |
| Erin Kindall | CFO | $191,982 |
| Total top-5 | — | $1,217,465 (11.2% of expenses) |
Key funding sources
| Award | Amount | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| USDA Climate-Smart "Forest to Home" | Up to $20M | USDA (controversial — under review) |
| EPA Brownfields — Roslyn Mine | $1,780,000 | EPA |
| WA Dept. of Ecology — Floodplains by Design | $3,500,000 | WA Ecology |
| WA Recreation and Conservation Office — CCA Yakima | $1,430,000 | WA RCO |
| Gates Foundation — Port Gamble Forest | $100,000 | Gates Foundation |
| Pierce County Conservation Futures | $2,700,000 | Pierce County |
Grantmaking: Forterra also operates as a grantmaker — 30 grants totaling $13.56M awarded since 2014 through Community Restoration Grants.
Where Oahe could help them spend better: The 157% surge in government grants without a corresponding USASpending profile suggests pass-through funding that's hard to track. Data services for grant portfolio management, reporting automation, and funding pipeline visualization would directly address operational capacity gaps.
Technology Gaps
Infrastructure maturity: Moderate.
- WordPress on a bare Vultr VPS with no CDN/WAF
- Microsoft 365 for email but no DMARC configured
- Let's Encrypt auto-TLS (good)
- EveryAction/Bonterra for donor CRM
- Historical GIS capability (webmaps.forterra.org, 2020–2023 — status unclear)
- Legacy on-prem infrastructure fully retired
Key gaps
- GIS/spatial data. A land conservancy managing 275,000+ acres had a dedicated webmaps subdomain that appears inactive since late 2023. May have moved to expensive third-party tools. This is a potential service opportunity.
- Data infrastructure. No evidence of a data warehouse, analytics platform, or dashboarding beyond EveryAction. For $45.5M in assets and $7.1M in government grants, this is a gap.
- No DMARC means they can't monitor email spoofing — a real risk for a donation-soliciting organization.
- No CDN/WAF means the origin WordPress server is directly exposed.
Decision Makers
| Name | Role | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michelle Connor | President & CEO | forterra.org, ProPublica | 28-year tenure. Survived 2022 crisis. Also on Liberty Bank board. |
| Ruth True | Board Chair | forterra.org | Co-founded Western Bridge (contemporary art) |
| Rachel Valdez | COO | ProPublica 990 | Highest-compensated executive ($243K) |
| Kristi England | Chief Governance & Innovation | ProPublica 990 | $240K. Institutional processes focus. |
| David Leon | VP, Real Estate | ProPublica 990 | $230K. Replaced Tobias Levey. |
| Erin Kindall | CFO | ProPublica 990 | $192K |
| Dan Nordstrom | Governor (Board) | WA SOS filing | Nordstrom family involvement |
| Dow Constantine | Board member | B2BHint | King County Executive. Dual role raised ethics questions. |
| De'Sean Quinn | Board member | B2BHint | Tukwila Councilman. Failed to disclose when approving $76K grant. |
Pain Points
- Post-crisis trust rebuilding. The 2022 Snoqualmie Tribe dispute, fired VP, 80+ staff revolt, and institutional investor demands left deep reputational scars. Third-party investigation confirmed Forterra "acted inconsistently." Connor survived but institutional trust is recovering.
- Tribal partnership credibility. The Snoqualmie controversy damaged standing with tribes. The Yakama Nation "Frog's Home" land return is a deliberate repair effort.
- Stalled housing projects. Hilltop Tacoma (1.6-acre Rite Aid site, purchased 2019) is "back to square one." Forterra Battleground LLC dissolved Jan 2022. Dakota Homestead (West Seattle) has a funding gap.
- Subsidiary governance opacity. Strong Communities Fund LLCs managed by board members who are also elected officials. Standard transparency tools can't penetrate this structure.
- Government funding concentration risk. 55% of revenue from government grants. A single grant rejection could significantly impact operations.
- GIS capability gap. Webmaps subdomain inactive since late 2023 for an org managing 275K+ acres.
Competitive Landscape
Vendors and partners identified:
- Bonterra/EveryAction — CRM and donor management (confirmed via SPF records)
- Northwest Registered Agent, LLC — registered agent for all WA entities
- Angeli Law Group — conducted the 2022 third-party investigation
- Investment partners: BECU, Russell Family Foundation, Seattle Foundation, MultiCare ($5M in Fund II)
Peer organizations:
- Land Trust Alliance member (national network)
- Partnered with American Farmland Trust, WA Farmland Trust (FarmPAI program)
- Green Seattle Partnership (city of Seattle urban stewardship)
No evidence of a dedicated technology vendor for GIS, data analytics, or grant management beyond the CRM. This is the whitespace.
Timing Opportunities
- Post-crisis stabilization (NOW). Revenue is up, government grants surged 157%, and the Yakama land return provides positive narrative momentum. Organizations in recovery mode invest in tools that prevent future crises.
- GIS/spatial data need. 275K+ acres under management. EPA Brownfields ($1.78M) and Floodplains by Design ($3.5M) both require geospatial analysis.
- Government grant surge. 157% increase creates administrative burden. More grants = more reporting requirements = more need for data infrastructure.
- FY2025 budget cycle. FY2024 revenue recovery ($12.8M vs. $5.0M in FY2023) means capacity to invest.
- Climate Commitment Act funding. WA's CCA is generating new conservation funding that requires data-driven reporting.
Recommended Approach
Forterra is a $12.8M/year land conservancy in post-crisis recovery with strong revenue momentum, a surge in government funding, and a demonstrated need for data infrastructure (GIS, grant portfolio management, reporting). The entry point is spatial data and environmental reporting — they manage 275K+ acres, their webmaps subdomain went dark, and their current tech stack has no geospatial or data analytics capability. Position Oahe as a data services partner that can help them demonstrate conservation impact to funders, automate grant reporting, and build the spatial intelligence layer that a land trust of this scale requires.
Do not lead with the 2022 controversy — they are aware of their reputation and will be defensive. Lead with the data problem: "You manage a quarter million acres and $7M in government grants. We help organizations like yours turn conservation data into fundable impact stories." The tribal partnership angle is a second-order pitch only after trust is established.
Entry point: Michelle Connor (CEO) or Rachel Valdez (COO). Avoid board-level cold outreach given the governance sensitivity.