Grow It Forward Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
471931867
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Manitowoc, WI, USA
Phone
9206459467
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,444,432
Expenses
$1,545,927
Assets
$795,430
Liabilities
$401,956

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AMBER DAUGS (CEO & FOUNDER)
  • JEREMIAH NOVAK (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMBER DAUGS (CEO & FOUNDER): $65,538 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 provide people in need with dignified access to good food, along with opportunities to grow, cook, share, and advocate for it.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community food center and gardens provide food for people in need through food pantry & community meals. CafÉ and farmers market to increase access to and availability of nutritious and locally grown/produced foods. Facility also open to public & community groups for rent.

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 100% 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

STRONG - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 95
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.3%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 81.5%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.37 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 25th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -7%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.51; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.51; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.2%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 45.8% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 36.8% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.4% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.3% of revenue deployed · 81.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $66K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.