Fort Myers-lee County Garden Council Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
596174630
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2016, Form 990-EZ 2024
Location
Fort Myers, FL, USA
Phone
2393324292
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$101,430
Expenses
$95,039
Assets
$360,638
Liabilities
$7,827

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELIZABETH MESKA (SECOND VICE PRESIDENT)
  • WENDY SPRAGUE (FIRST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SUSAN FERO (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • SYLVIA SWARTZ (DIRECTOR)
  • ELIZABETH MESKA (SECOND VICE PRESIDENT)
  • WENDY SPRAGUE (FIRST VICE PRESIDENT)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The general nature and objective of the organization is to foster, promote and increase knowledge and the importance of civic beautification and conservation in and around fort myers and lee county Florida.

What it reported doing in 2024

The council allowed the berne davis gardens to be open year-round, and was open to the public during the edison-ford special events. The council recognized member's service with council awards and the berne davis honorary service award. The council partnered with lee county extension service and edison ford estates to provide a safe space for their gardening classes. The council continued to provide scholarships for students at wekiva camp, seek camp, and the edison and ford summer camp. The council staged the strolling flower show at the sidney and berne davis art center and a ngc standard flower show. The council continued improvements to the berne davis gardens. The council sponsored meetings of our ffgc-registered junior garden club. The council hosted a mothers' day tea fundraiser and two concerts open to the public by sw fiddlers in the gazebo. The council was recognized by the community foundation of cape coral as the non-profit organization of the year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 86% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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 program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 53
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53.4%; rating input score 53
  • Program expense ratio: 53.6%; rating input score 54

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.3%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.79; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.4% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 53.4% of revenue deployed · 53.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 2 filed program accomplishments · $51K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 54/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.