Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics
“Protect the outdoors by teaching and inspiring people to enjoy it responsibly.”
The work
What they do
Education and outreach on minimum-impact outdoor recreation. Partners with all federal land agencies on visitor education. Training programs and awareness campaigns.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “GROUNDED IN SCIENCE AND DRIVEN BY EDUCATION AND STEWARDSHIP, LEAVE NO TRACE EMPOWERS PEOPLE TO PROTECT THE OUTDOOR PLACES WE SHARE, ENSURING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND OUR COLLECTIVE OUTDOOR EXPERIENCES.”
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Boots on the ground
$2.1MLEAVE NO TRACE LEADS A NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT EMPOWERING PEOPLE TO PROTECT THE OUTDOORS THROUGH SCIENCE-BASED EDUCATION AND STEWARDSHIP.
Including $9,403 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
LEAVE NO TRACE LEADS A NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT EMPOWERING PEOPLE TO PROTECT THE OUTDOORS THROUGH SCIENCE-BASED EDUCATION AND STEWARDSHIP. OUR PROGRAMS REACH EVERYONE WHO ENJOYS NATURE, WHETHER HIKING, CAMPING, FISHING, BIKING, HUNTING, CLIMBING, OR PADDLING, BY TEACHING PRACTICAL WAYS TO PREVENT AND MINIMIZE IMPACTS, ENSURING THAT OUTDOOR EXPERIENCES REMAIN HEALTHY AND ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
81 cents of every dollar goes to the work
That ratio is a good sign, not a scorecard. Plenty of great groups run leaner and lumpier. What matters is the extremes, and LNT is nowhere near one.
Backed on the record by REI Cooperative Action Fund, latest filing FY24.
$2,126,533 programs, $246,674 management, $246,322 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. Orgs that claim their page can update it same-day. Work at LNT? Claim this page.
Those 30,000 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If LNT is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 30,001The filings
14 years of filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $1,302,712 |
| 2012 | $1,180,586 |
| 2013 | $1,364,997 |
| 2014 | $1,391,373 |
| 2015 | $1,517,686 |
| 2016 | $1,456,379 |
| 2017 | $2,057,891 |
| 2018 | $2,209,876 |
| 2019 | $2,231,565 |
| 2020 | $1,940,423 |
| 2021 | $2,203,095 |
| 2022 | $3,087,765 |
| 2023 | $2,819,959 |
| 2025 | $2,670,656 |
From $1.3M in 2011 to $2.7M in FY25, across 14 public filings.
Ways in
How to help
81 cents of your dollar goes straight to the work above.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
Find it on their site ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapStand with LNT
32 years on the ground, 30,000 volunteers, 81 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.