Agri-culture Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770212413
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Watsonville, CA, USA
Phone
8317241356
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$276,560
Expenses
$292,316
Assets
$4,309,585
Liabilities
$69,183

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BILL RINGE (Vice President)
  • STEVE BONTADELLI (President)
  • THOMAS AM RHEIN (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • JOHN PISTURINO (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • JESS BROWN (EXEC DIRECTOR): $127,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To promote the understanding of agriculture and its relationship to the people in santa cruz and monterey counties.

What it reported doing in 2024

Program services consist of education and focus agriculture classes to educate the general public of santa cruz county and the pajaro valley of the importance of agriculture.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 69% for direct work, and 31% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.3%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 61.8%; rating input score 62
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.7%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 14.74; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 43.4%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.9% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.3% of revenue deployed · 61.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $181K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $127K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.