Cultures Edge

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561981809
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2010, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Black Mountain, NC, USA
Phone
8286692707
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$338,187
Expenses
$323,583
Assets
$275,306
Liabilities
$32,161

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DEBORAH LIENHART (SECRETARY): $31,894 total reported compensation
  • CARMEN LESCHER (MEMBER): $7,889 total reported compensation
  • GREGORY A CLARK (TREASURER): $4,080 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Cultures edge is a non-profit charitable corporation dedicated to support, demonstrate and catalyze the development of healthy, sustainable and regenerative culture.

What it reported doing in 2025

The ecovillage development program was launched in 2025 with the goal of focalizing immediate and on-going roads, bridges and creek restoration and long-range strategic village development. The roads, bridges and creek restoration project began the planning for the building of a new first bridge as well as other water management techniques designed to build greater resiliency for the future. Additionally, the innovation fund was launched to support the emgergence of innovative ideas for ecovillage development.

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 91% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 95
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.2%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 80.4%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st 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; 64th 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.3%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.85; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.6%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.2% of revenue deployed · 80.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $260K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $32K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.