Deep Roots Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
824770407
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Oak Park, IL, USA
Phone
8477743202
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Pollution Abatement and Control Services

Reported finances

Revenue
$16,998
Expenses
$32,824
Assets
$7,833
Liabilities
$27,413

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

Leadership & pay

2 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WILLIAM SCHREIBER (President)

People named in this filing

  • WILLIAM SCHREIBER (President)
  • ESTELLE CAROL (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

Deep roots project provides education and supplies for growing food in urban areas. We research and adapt the latest soil science from organic gardening and regenerative farming to provide an innovative way to grow organic food in raised beds. We offer the best products for success like cedar raised beds, microbe-rich compost and worm castings.

What it reported doing in 2025

We have created an innovative, easy-to-use economical food growing method for beginner and experienced gardeners with busy lives. Our methods are designed for organic gardeners with limited space and limited time who used raised beds. We partnered with several organizations who have provided grants for helping individuals and groups get started using our methods.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 100% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filed totals do not add up and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 100
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

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

Transparency & Controls

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

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -93.1%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.24; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 3.5; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.2% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -14.3% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -21.7% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $43K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 2 people listed
  • Consistency: 6 of 7 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Part III program expenses within total did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.