Hawaii Institute of Pacific Agriculture

Overview

Mission

The Hawaii institute of pacific agriculture (hip ag) is a conscious movement of inspired individuals living a model of sustainability through direct engagement with the earth and service to youth and communities. Located in beautiful, historic north kohala, hip ag is a growing community that cultivates a diverse collection of polynesian crops and operates as an educational site offering sustainable agriculture courses, youth programming, community workshops and events. Through farming and hands-on education, hip agriculture is pioneering a new paradigm of conscious agriculture that honors indigenous wisdom, food sovereignty, and the transformational power of returning to the land. Hip ag's mission is to practice and teach regenerative agricultural education programs. Hip ag's vision is to heal and inspire Hawaii through resilient agriculture education. Hip ag's values and guiding principles are: 1. Practice traditional pacific agriculture that produces food and medicine. 2. Provide exp

What it reported doing in 2024

Soil health conservation & innovation program aims to conduct 12 soil health demonstration trials (shdts) across Hawaii island, focusing on evaluating the soil health, agronomic productivity, economic, and social impacts of integrating regenerative practices into production systems for staple crops. These trials will assess the impacts of incorporating biofumigant cover crops, soil carbon amendments (compost + biochar), and traditional polynesian polyculture techniques into production models for high disturbance crops such as taro, sweet potato, and banana. The data from the trials will be compiled and analyzed, resulting in specific and actionable recommendations to producers, facilitating increased adoption of these practices.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
452534694
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2016
Headquarters
Kapaau, HI, USA
Phone
8088896316
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51%; rating input score 51
  • Program expense ratio: 71.5%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 28.8%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.57; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.7%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.2% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 36.1% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51% of revenue deployed · 71.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $567K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $90K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 annual filings from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DASHIELL KUHR (CEO): $90,057 total reported compensation
  • ERIKA KUHR (CEO): $89,504 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.