Foods Works - Two Rivers Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222903317
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2013
Forms available
Form 990 2013
Location
Montpelier, VT, USA
Phone
8022235939
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$452,340
Expenses
$431,273
Assets
$402,348
Liabilities
$256,817

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Gabriel Zoerheide (Executive Dir.): $14,040 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Food Works at Two Rivers Center was founded in 1987 to address the root causes of childhood hunger by returning students and their communities back to the land through hands-on food and gardening educational opportunities.

What it reported doing in 2013

General Programs: Summer Camps -Studnets learn how to identify and use native and non-native herbs for medical purposes studying iwth trained herbalists at the Two Rivers Center. Participants keep herb journals, make herbal salves, balms and teas and take home their own first aid kits. Program assistance provided to VT Feed - which works with schools and communities to raise awareness about healthy food, the role of Vermont farms and farmers and good nutrition. Program assistance provided to VT Foodbank.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 80% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and assets have declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.2%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 75.4%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $45.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 79th 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.7%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.93; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.64; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -28.7% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.2% of revenue deployed · 75.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $325K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $14K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2010 to 2013
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

Key Signals

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

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.