Fairshare Csa Coalition

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
272588129
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Madison, WI, USA
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nutrition

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,138,534
Expenses
$1,049,672
Assets
$637,297
Liabilities
$50,462

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CAROL RIDDERBUSCH (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • CLARE STONER FEHSENFELD (Executive Dir.): $90,575 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To promote community supported agriculture (csa) in Wisconsin and strive to ensure that all families have access to locally produced, organic food and have strong connections to their farms, food, and community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Farmer development - fairshare works closely with our community of growers to develop and share resources, build skills and farm efficiencies and to maintain a spirit of collaboration and camaraderie. Fairshare endorses new farms each year through an application and interview process. Throughout the year, fairshare coordinates a number of farmer-to-farmer programs, available to fairshare-endorsed farms and other direct market producers, with topics ranging from technical growing skills to management practices to marketing. Other resources provided by fairshare include the annual organic vegetable production conference, on-farm research trials focused on cover crop and no-till production methods, and an organic vegetable farm manager apprenticeship program that provides a pathway for farmers to train and retain employees perennially.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 71% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 89.1%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $37.37 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 82.4%; rating input score 82; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.8%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.61; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.6%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.9% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83% of revenue deployed · 89.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $935K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $91K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 28 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grants require schedule f did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.