Farm Aid Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 363383233
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Cambridge, MA, USA
- Phone
- 6173542922
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Fund Raising and Fund Distribution
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,039,327
- Expenses
- $5,210,917
- Assets
- $10,278,401
- Liabilities
- $432,455
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CAROLYN MUGAR (EXE. DIRECTOR & VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- CAROLINE MCCORMICK (OPERATIONS DIRECTOR): $159,112 total reported compensation
- JENNIFER FAHY (COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR): $153,452 total reported compensation
- GLENDA YODER (ASSISTANT TREASURER): $137,445 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Farm aid's mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in america. Farm aid artists and board members willie nelson, john mellencamp, neil young, dave matthews and margo price host an annual festival to support farm aid's year-round work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose food from family farms. Since 1985, farm aid has raised more than $89 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the good food movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.
What it reported doing in 2024
Promoting food from family farms - the heart of farm aid's work to promote food from family farms is the annual farm aid festival, america's longest running annual music event with a mission, which unites farmers, artists, music lovers and eaters to celebrate family farmers and mobilizes people to build a powerful movement for good food from family farms. The organization's annual festival features family farm food throughout the venue with farm aid's homegrown concessions, fostering strong relationships among farmers, food companies, concessionaires and festivalgoers. The homegrown youthmarket sells local produce from family farmers and is staffed by local youth engaged in agriculture. In the homegrown village, dozens of farm and food groups engage festivalgoers in hands-on experiences about farming, food, soil, water, and renewable energy. In addition to its annual festival, farm aid engages people in the culture of agriculture through smaller regional events and with its inspiring and informative social and media campaigns that connect eaters and farmers through cooking, eating, and growing. Farm aid 2024 was held at broadview stage at saratoga performing arts center in saratoga springs, New York, on september 21, with a sold out crowd of more than 21,000. In a food landscape largely controlled by corporations, farm aid 2024 showcased farmers who are creating community-based food systems that improve food access and quality, boost farmer income and local economies, and promote healthier soil and water. The farm aid 2024 stage featured farm aid board members willie nelson, john mellencamp, neil young, dave matthews (performing with tim reynolds) and margo price, as well as mavis staples, nathaniel rateliff & the night sweats, lukas nelson with the travelin' mccourys, charley crockett, joy oladokun, southern avenue, cassandra lewis, jesse welles, wisdom indian dancers and kontiwennenha: wi. Artists generously donated their performance time at the festival, an invaluable contribution that enables farm aid to raise funds in support of its mission.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 68% for direct work, and 32% for grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 64
- Accountability: 86
- Sustainability: 31
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 88%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $10.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 24th 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: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.5%; rating input score 99; 39th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -29%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.97; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 15.1%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 10.8% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 19.2% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $4.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $159K · 14 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.3M reported
- Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 132 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 126 filed related-organization links
- 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.