Cracker Box Palace at Alasa Farms
Legal name: Cracker Box Palace Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 161600471
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- North Rose, NY, United States
- Phone
- 315-483-2493
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Animal Protection and Welfare
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $375,977
- Expenses
- $361,199
- Assets
- $1,053,550
- Liabilities
- $112,793
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CHARLES HANK STUART (VICE PRESIDENT)
- JEFFREY APFEL (PRESIDENT & TREAS. (UNTIL OCT. 2024))
Highest reported compensation
- SARA BUYS (FARM DIRECTOR): $23,078 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our Mission To provide shelter and sanctuary to farm animals, promote the rich history of the area, and utilize sound conservation and agricultural practices by education of and engagement with the community. The farm has deep ties to the region's distinctive history. In the 1800s the farm hosted not one but two utopian communities: the deeply religious Shakers and the lesser known Fourierists, enthusiastically committed to the many social reforms such as abolitionism and women's rights that swept through upstate New York prior to the Civil War. In the 20th century the farm was owned by Alvah Griffin Strong, grandson of the first president of Kodak, who developed the farm as a model of progr.
What it reported doing in 2024
To provide a safe and humane environment for abandoned or mistreated farm animals and to find new home for many of these animals.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 90% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 49
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 77.3%; rating input score 77
- Program expense ratio: 80.4%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $54.3 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 78; 78th 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: Limited
- 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: 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: 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: 3.9%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.92; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 77.3% of revenue deployed · 80.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $290K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $23K · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.