Jones Valley Urban Farm

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
522359003
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Birmingham, AL, USA
Phone
2054537268
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Job Training

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,993,657
Expenses
$3,461,473
Assets
$7,329,722
Liabilities
$1,368,476

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AMANDA STOREY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMANDA STOREY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $150,000 total reported compensation
  • JARITA MEANS (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $113,038 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Working in close partnership with birmingham city schools (bcs), we operate seven vibrant, student-centered teaching farms and a good school food education and apprenticeship model. Through cross-curricular experiential lessons and on-the-job training, youth find joy in learning by using food, farming, and cooking as a foundation for academic exploration, leadership, and pursuit of career/post-secondary pathways. With the goal of connecting these resources with our larger community and state, we built the center for food education on our downtown campus. The center increases the overall reach and impact of jvtf's good school food model through field trips, camps, on the job training and employment opportunities, and community programming.

What it reported doing in 2024

Good school food is jvtf's primary program. Gsf is a pre-k-12th food education and apprenticeship model that connects students to food through cross curricular and standards based content in and after school. In partnership with public schools, jvtf operates state of the art teaching farms and employs full time employees known as gsf instructors, embedded at each school who work with school faculty to develop dynamic programs and curricula. Jvtf's apprenticeship model uses on the job learning to develop talent and connect youth to post secondary education and career opportunities. In an effort to increase food resiliency, food and seedlings that are grown on jvtf sites are distributed for free.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.2%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 78.7%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -15.6%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.12; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.6%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.2% of revenue deployed · 78.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $150K · 25 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.