Ag & Food Lab
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 933437709
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023
- Location
- Denver, CO, USA
- Phone
- 5054905141
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Alliance/Advocacy
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $245,943
- Expenses
- $240,368
- Assets
- $92,828
- Liabilities
- $606
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Roberto Meza (Director and President)
- Eileen O'Rourke (Executive Director and Secretary)
Highest reported compensation
- Eileen O'Rourke (Executive Director and Secretary): $78,461 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide equitably resource producers and other food organizations focused on food security opportunities programs and services aimed at effective stewardship of resilient food ecosystems and related charitable programs and services thereby promoting the well-being of all who rely on such charitable programs and services;
What it reported doing in 2025
The Farm advances regenerative agriculture through hands-on production demonstration and conservation projects that support producers applied learning and land stewardship. Initiated Councils focused on agricultural operations conservation and education to guide development and operations on the Farm by involving partners community members farmers and staff. Developed a 6-acre irrigation plan to support incubator farmers. Created a plan to upgrade the existing well and add a second well ensuring water resilience for future production. Provided technical assistance to two farm businesses strengthening planning production and market access.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 76% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 80
- Sustainability: 31
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 70.1%; rating input score 70
- Program expense ratio: 71.7%; rating input score 72
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 24th 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: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 2.3%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.39; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 32.6%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 35.1% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 70.1% of revenue deployed · 71.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $172K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $78K · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 32/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.