Dairy and Food Nutrition Council of the Southeast Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814058275
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Meridian, ID, USA
Phone
2083277050
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$20,181,325
Expenses
$20,179,616
Assets
$2,885,277
Liabilities
$1,026,940

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Steve Seppi (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Eric Bastian (VP IR&R): $289,038 total reported compensation
  • Crystal Wilson (Former VP ED&E): $216,192 total reported compensation
  • Heidi Martin (COO): $200,092 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Dairy product promotion, research, and nutrition education activities

What it reported doing in 2025

Dairy product programs providing innovation partnerships and industry relations and research such as food processing and nutrition research, workforce development, and stakeholder relations

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.14; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.5%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 47.5% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $13.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $289K · 23 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $733K reported
  • Consistency: 12 of 12 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.