Arizona Farm Bureau Federation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
860086885
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Gilbert, AZ, USA
Phone
4806353600
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,232,180
Expenses
$3,374,963
Assets
$14,756,630
Liabilities
$1,261,355

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

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PHILIP BASHAW (CEO/SECRETARY)
  • JOHN BOELTS (PRESIDENT)
  • STEFANIE SMALLHOUSE (PRESIDENT (THRU NOV 2024))
  • RICHARD KENNEDY (1ST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SHARLA MORTIMER (2ND VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • PHILIP BASHAW (CEO/SECRETARY): $262,506 total reported compensation
  • RONNA LINDSTROM (CFO): $172,565 total reported compensation
  • CHAD SMITH (DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT REL): $170,206 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Arizona farm bureau is a grassroots organization dedicated to preserving and improving the agriculture industry through member involvement in education, political activities, outreach programs, and services.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization represents, protects, and advances the educational and overall interests of Arizona agriculture. The organization serves more than 30,000 members statewide and promotes public understanding of agriculture through advocacy, communications, and educational programs. Agricultural education programs reach more than 160,000 students annually. The organization publishes two print publications that provide information on issues affecting Arizona agriculture and its members.

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 99% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.7%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 80.2%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $86.76 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 89.3%; rating input score 89; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.3%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.37; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.3%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.6% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.7% of revenue deployed · 80.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 28 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $263K · 33 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 27 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.