Agrarian Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
872013790
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Carlsbad, CA, USA
Phone
7605194873
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$122,938
Expenses
$120,592
Assets
$81,350
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Mario DeMatteo (President)

People named in this filing

  • Mario DeMatteo (President)
  • Mark Bailey (Treasurer)
  • Sheena Schleicher (Secretary)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We help people learn humanity's original purpose- stewardship of the earth for the common good.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025 , The Agrarian Institute made significant strides in fighting food insecurity and promoting regenerative agriculture in North County San Diego. Through our education programs, we taught over 12 hands-on classes and empowered local families with the skills to grow their own food. We harvested 7,500 pounds of organic produce-all donated to families in need through our local partnership with Operation Hope NC and Fallbrook Food Pantry. We planted 25 fruit trees and 250 pollinator plants to foster long-term community resilience. We hosted 8 interns from California State University San Marcos and we welcomed over 750 volunteers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.4%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 88.1%; rating input score 88

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.9%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.67; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.7% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.4% of revenue deployed · 88.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $106K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.