Gaia Education Outreach Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
223132228
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023
Location
Wilton, NH, USA
Phone
6035546536
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$183,515
Expenses
$139,752
Assets
$445,321
Liabilities
$125,833

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHANNON LINN (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LINCOLN GEIGER (FOUNDER): $27,200 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH BRANDLEY (MEMBER): $23,400 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Establish and maintain an educational, working, biodynamic farm: to support land aquisition and ownership of farm, forest lands, and cultural sites to offer educational functions related to these goals

What it reported doing in 2025

The education of individuals in arts, science, agriculture, horticulture, forestry, ecology, home economics, nutrition, cottage industry, wilderness expolation, crafts, and survival; as well as theraputic remedial education for people with disabilities

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 61% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 87% 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 most voting board members are independent. 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: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 42.4%; rating input score 42
  • Program expense ratio: 56.1%; rating input score 56
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5,449.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 23.8%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.19; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 36.2%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -131% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 42.4% of revenue deployed · 56.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $78K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $27K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 42/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 56/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.