Highwater Farm

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
843715918
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Glenwood Springs, CO, USA
Phone
9702745298
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development - Agricultural

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$481,380
Expenses
$337,579
Assets
$320,105
Liabilities
$5,989

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Sara Tymczyszyn (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Sara Tymczyszyn (Executive Director): $46,154 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We use sustainable agriculture to transform the lives of young people and increase access to healthy food in Garfield County.

What it reported doing in 2024

Positive youth development is a cornerstone of Highwater Farm's mission. With support from public donations and key community partners, 10 young people are served annually through our job-training programs. Programs include an introductory 7-week Summer Youth Program and a next level Fall Internship. Teens complete the programs with an understanding of local agriculture, respect for the land and the labor of growing food, and improved communication and job skills. By applying high standards and healthy methods of communication and team building, we bridge communities and better equip the next generation of leaders in our local community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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

SUPPORTED - 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 16
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.3%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 88.7%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $30.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 67; 67th 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: Limited
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 29.9%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.95; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.7%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.7% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24.2% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.3% of revenue deployed · 88.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $299K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $46K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.