GWBN Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 300390769
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2007
- Location
- Buffalo, NY, USA
- Phone
- 7162475004
- Rating
- 68
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community, Neighborhood Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $185,147
- Expenses
- $179,372
- Assets
- $198,080
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Laurie Ousley (President Treasurer)
- Elizabeth Foy (Vice President)
- Jeffrey Tooke (President Emeritus)
People named in this filing
- Laurie Ousley (President Treasurer)
- Elizabeth Foy (Vice President)
- Lauren Maynard (Secretary)
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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Create more vibrant and beautiful communities by sharing our gardens, and developing a culture of gardening, all supporting our regions ecology and economy. This is achieved through GBN produced events promoting all regional garden tours, facilitating horticultural and environmental
What it reported doing in 2025
Hosted and promoted garden tours throughout Buffalo Niagara which promote healthy neighborhoodsand communities. Provided beautification grants for 250+ projects totalling more than $130,000 since 2004.Attracted approx 70,000+ garden tourists annually from around the US, Canada and beyond.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 72% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 69% for direct work, and 31% for grants.
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: 43
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 43.8%; rating input score 44
- Program expense ratio: 41.9%; rating input score 42
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: 3.1%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.1; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 25.6%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 43.8% of revenue deployed · 41.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $75K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 16 people listed
- Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 44/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 42/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.