Appalachian Barn Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
460880358
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Mars Hill, NC, USA
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities

Reported finances

Revenue
$32,203
Expenses
$80,366
Assets
$7,778

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Sandy Stevenson (President)
  • Elizabeth Ayers (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Sandy Stevenson (President)
  • Mike Foster (Treasurer)
  • Janet Foster (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

Historical preservation and education

What it reported doing in 2025

Completed reconstruction of two historic barns on a heritage farmstead owned by the town of Mars Hill bringing to a total of 5 barns on the property. The ABA provides informative signs for all 5 barns explaining the history and use of these barns. This public space serves several 100 visitors each month which should increase as the farmstead is further promoted through literature local events and word-of-mouth.

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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 54.9%; rating input score 55

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -149.6%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.1; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 43.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 54.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments · $44K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 55/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.