PLATINUM2022

CALIFORNIA FARMLAND TRUST

Protecting the Farms that Feed Your Family

aka Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust   |   Elk Grove, CA   |  www.cafarmtrust.org

Mission

We are on a mission to help farmers protect the best farmland in the world. We envision a future where our communities value farming as the best use of fertile farmland, and we all protect the farms that support our economy, environment, and quality of life.

Ruling year info

2001

Executive Director

Mrs. Charlotte Mitchell

Main address

P.O. Box 1960

Elk Grove, CA 95759 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

Central Valley Farmland Trust

EIN

77-0566494

NTEE code info

Farmland Preservation (K25)

Natural Resource Conservation and Protection (C30)

Agricultural Programs (K20)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The world has a finite supply of farmland capable of growing the diverse food, fibre, and foliage we all need to survive. California is uniquely able to produce over 400 crops that nourish and sustain our growing population. However, that farmland is also in prime locations for development. In order to build a future full of diverse, healthy foods, we strive to protect the farms that feed our families. We serve our mission by working with farmers to ensure their farmland remains farmland, capable of feeding and clothing our population, forever; working with local governments on farmland protection policies; and educating the next generation on the value of farmland.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Raley's Field Trips on the Farm

California Farmland Trust works with local schools to bring children K-12 out to operating farms

Population(s) Served
Children and youth

We work with farmers who would like to ensure their properties remain farmland, forever. We place legal protections on their lands so that they cannot be developed, and must be used for farming, forever.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Where we work

Affiliations & memberships

Land Trust Alliance 2004

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of students educated through field trips

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Children and youth

Related Program

Raley's Field Trips on the Farm

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

2020 was a year of revisioning for our educational efforts. We sought balance between virtual and in person activities, while maintaining educational impact as a key focus of our efforts.

Number of acres of land protected

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults

Related Program

Farmland Conservation

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

All acres protected are prime irrigated farmland in California.

Number of list subscribers

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Farmland Conservation

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Email subscribers, not including social media audience.

Number of family farms protected

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults

Related Program

Farmland Conservation

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

We measure our impact not only in terms of acres of land protected, but also by how many farms those acres encompass.

Number of donations made by board members

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

We are proud to have a 100% giving board. Many of our board members make multiple gifts throughout the year.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Our mission is to help farmers protect the best farmland in the world. We aim to protect a unique natural resource, farmland, to enable future generations to thrive. To date we have protected 79 properties and 17,261 acres of farmland; our goal is to conserve 20,000 in the near future.

The California Farmland Trust is engaged in the protection of productive farmland in California. Farmland protection is accomplished in the following ways:

-Acquiring agricultural conservation easements from willing landowners on a voluntary basis and annually monitoring those properties to ensure they remain farmland.
-Working in partnership with private and governmental conservation agencies and organizations to support smart urban growth that respects the farms that feed our families.
-Working cooperatively with other land trusts to spread awareness and create respect for this unique natural resource.
-Public outreach and education, including field trips, to educate the public on farmland and promote appreciation thereof.

Our organization is uniquely positioned to protect farmland. There are many land trusts in California; we are distinct in that our focus is purely farmland. Our board is entirely composed of people with a background in agriculture; from farmers, to ag lenders, to farm advisors, we have a wide array of expertise. This expertise extends to our staff, who have experience in farming, managing nonprofits, and land use issues.

In California the best farmland is located in the Central Valley. The Central Valley boasts of a combination highly productive soil, abundance of irrigation water, lengthy growing season, available technology, and adaptive delivery systems. This agriculture region is not and cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the world.

Unfortunately we lost 560,000 acres of the best farmland between 1984 and 2008. To put this in perspective, it equates to 875 square miles of lost farmland or 1,140 football fields. The loss of productive farmland, when our population continues to grow, is simply not sustainable. It has been estimated that it takes an acre of farmland to feed each person; the more acres we lose the fewer people we are able to feed.

Together with our willing landowners, CFT has permanently protected from development 17,261 acres since 2001. We are striving to reach 20,000 acres in the near future.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    We serve landowners, farmers and students through our education efforts.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    We recently reevaluated our educational materials and developed online materials. We are also in the process of developing educational resources in Spanish to better serve students in the area.

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve

Financials

CALIFORNIA FARMLAND TRUST
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

CALIFORNIA FARMLAND TRUST

Board of directors
as of 02/24/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Jon Harvey

Retired

Term: 2020 - 2022

Barbara Smith

BAC Community Bank

Ron Freitas

Retired

Maxwell Norton

Retired - UC Coop Extension

Ken Oneto

KLM Ranches

Larry Ruhstaller

Ruhstaller's Camel and the Bear

Jim Jorgensen

Retired

Denny Jackman

Retired

Jon Harvey

Sugarbowl

Patrick Johnston

Dwelley Farms

Ron Dolinsek

Retired

Sam Zanutto

American Ag Credit

Theresa Kiehn

AgSafe

Ryan Jacobsen

Fresno County Farm Bureau

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 4/12/2021
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Decline to state
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

 

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 04/12/2021

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.