Iskashitaa Refugee Network
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 455067244
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023
- Location
- Tucson, AZ, USA
- Phone
- 5204400100
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $245,962
- Expenses
- $257,543
- Assets
- $110,452
- Liabilities
- $71,517
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Barbara Eiswerth (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Barbara Eiswerth (Executive Director): $80,000 total reported compensation
- Amelia Natoli (Grants and Development): $48,602 total reported compensation
- Cathy Lowing (Program manager): $33,775 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Iskashitaa Refugee Network creates opportunities to integrate UN refugees into the Southern Arizona community while educating the public and strengthening the local food system, reducing local food waste, and increasing food security. With the help of hundreds of community volunteers and refugees. We have the only year-round gleaning program for backyards. Through our Harvesting Division, we Identify, glean, and redistribute more than 50-75 tons of produce annually This helps a diverse range of under-served families across southern Arizona meet their nutritional needs. Our Culinary Division offers food preservation workshops and food demonstrations featuring an eclectic mix of refugee community groups and cultural tastes. Participants learn international food preservation techniques and gain new understanding of the multi-ethnic significance of food. With twice weekly harvests, edible tree tours, workshops, and presentations to choose from.
What it reported doing in 2024
Our Harvest and Gleaning program operate year-round, with a total of 262 harvests from 240 locations in 2024. 61,000 pounds of food were gleaned and redistributed to UN resettled refugees and other food-insecure populations throughout Southern and Eastern Arizona. Most of the gleaned fruit was from 277 backyard trees, with other locations including schools, orchards, greenhouses, and heritage farms. A total of 235 volunteers expended 2340 volunteer hours in harvesting efforts. The harvesting program has several components including edible tree identification urban tree stewardship, and environmental sustainability practices like composting. An estimated 5-10% of gleaned and rescued food is culled and composted in an on-site composting facility. This is used as an educational opportunity, and compost is distributed to refugees for gardening. Funders: USDA and individual donations
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 75% 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 assets have declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 63
- Sustainability: 22
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
- 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 1 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 11
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -4.7%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.43; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.65; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 65.5%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -22.6% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 1 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $258K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $80K · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.