Everett Community Growers

What it reported doing in 2024

Urban agriculturefarm harvest successes and challengesin early 2025, ecg lost our broadway farm due to a city construction project. This was an important space for the community to gather and learn about where food comes from and how it can be grown locally. The farm was also everett's only authorized healthy incentives program (hip) vendor. The majority of the produce that ecg distributed to the community from 2021 - 2024 came from this location. Though it was a sudden loss, this did not stop ecg from its mission to provide everett-grown produce to residents. The seasonal youth crew and core staff continued to grow produce at the northern strand community farm, establishing a free farmstand for donating produce. Additionally, ecg continued to donate to bread of life and to sell to everett high school through whitsons school nutrition, everett public schools' food service management company.in 2025 we harvested approximately 500 pounds of produce at our farm and distributed by:1. Selling 55% to everett public schools/whitsons school nutrition 2. Donating 35% to local families through a free farm stand and other activities3. Donating 10% to local food pantry, bread of lifenew produce distribution events in 2025: our free farmstands were developed in response to the loss of the hip-certified broadway farm. Core staff worked with the youth crew to establish a farmstand location outside of ecg's offices on broadway. In addition to fresh produce from the northern strand community farm, staff handed out food access resources to residents. Farmstand customers are largely local residents, and while our farmstand is open to all, we take special care to focus outreach to snap/hip, ebt, wic and senior farmers' market coupon recipients. All communications are available in the 4 main languages spoken in everett (english, spanish, portuguese and haitian creole), and feedback is regularly collected and used to inform and improve our work. In 2025, ecg also partnered with cambridge health alliance (cha) department of community health to pilot the produce prescription program, a fresh produce program for everett care center patients who have screened positive for food insecurity. Registered patients receive produce grown at eastie farm in east boston and farmer dave's in dracut through a free community supported agriculture (csa) model, as well as food resources, including information on local food pantries and food assistance programs, recipes, and local gardening programs.tremont street community garden (tscg): celebrating 10 years of growing food and community in 2025 our tscg growers are 30 everett families that speak 6 languages. The majority are lower-income renter, multi-lingual, multicultural households, and have been at their community garden for 5+ years. Many are involved in various forms of ecg engagement and community organizing work. Outreach for community garden membership is promoted locally in multiple languages, but most come to us by word of mouth from other growers. We hold events and workshops at the garden sites throughout the season on various topics (e.g., seed saving, pollinators, integrated pest management, soil health, etc.) and encourage experienced growers to lead these workshops as they are able. In 2025 the tremont street community garden held 14 activities: 1 opening ceremony; 6 cleaning day co-working sessions; 1 medicinal herb tincture workshop; 4 healing circles; 1 tenth anniversary celebration; 1 closing ceremony.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 74.8%; rating input score 75
• Program expense ratio: 78.8%; rating input score 79
• Fundraising efficiency: $23.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 62; 62nd 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: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
  • Whistleblower policy: Fail
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 5.1%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.77; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 38.4% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 24.9% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 24.3% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings