Hilltop Urban Gardens

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
825099194
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018
Location
Tacoma, WA, USA
Phone
2533423424
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$320,448
Expenses
$623,512
Assets
$683,108
Liabilities
$543,698

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • TaNeashia Sudds (Board Member): $61,294 total reported compensation
  • Ale Abreu (Board Member): $22,200 total reported compensation
  • Rhonda Grantham (Board Member): $20,100 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Serve as a fiscal sponsor organization for other organizations doing work such as: ? Food Security: Growing and distributing healthy food ? Housing and Economic Stability: Investing in Community Based Housing and Economic Development Strategies1 ? Educational Opportunities: Build skill knowledge and resource through educational programming ? Wellness: Create and support opportunities for community well-being

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024 Hilltop Urban Gardens HUG advanced racial equity food sovereignty and social justice in Tacomas Hilltop neighborhood through innovative initiatives in reproductive justice food production agricultural education and cultural preservation. HUG served 551 community members-including 265 youth 49 volunteers and 35 Black Sunday attendees-by offering programs that ranged from weekly Black Sunday gatherings for cultural celebration and mental health support to a Farm to Preschool Program and Agricultural Academy that engaged 62 children in hands-on sustainability at the HUG Farm. The organization also produced and distributed 1,000 lbs of food through its Black Food Sovereignty program and established 12 culturally relevant BIPOC residential food growing sites via the Urban Food Network while transforming a barren 4,800 sq ft lot into the Wellness and Ecology Park a new hub for food production herbal farming and community healing. HUG further bolstered community resilience and healing through its Black Birthworker Initiative BBI which supported 12 Black birth workers and hosted four seasonal community herbal clinics. The BBI Community Blessingway events held in March and August provided healing spaces for 202 BIPOC families affected by economic disparity medical neglect and other birth-related inequities. Complementing these direct service efforts HUG partnered with organizations like the Front and Centered and Surge Reproductive Justice to advocate for policy changes and promote economic and agricultural land stewardship opportunities for displaced Black community members thereby addressing the systemic roots of racism and displacement.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 67
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 92.6%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 63.6%; rating input score 64; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • 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: -94.6%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.1; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.8; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.8%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 22.6% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 92.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $577K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $61K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.