Kc Farm School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
833749203
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Kansas City, KS, USA
Phone
8163643836
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Agricultural Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$845,750
Expenses
$865,092
Assets
$115,605
Liabilities
$54,470

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALICIA ELLINGSWORTH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALICIA ELLINGSWORTH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $65,994 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 empower indiviudals through on-farm, hands-on experiences and vocational education connecting them to land, food, themselves, and their communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education - kc farm school grows food and teaches people how to grow food. We bring 10k people onto the farm each year to learn hands-on how to start seeds, prep the soil, plant, care for, and harvest vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers. We mentor backyard growers providing free plants and supplies, teach all ages on-farm, hands-on, and train youth through a paid apprenticeship program. We host educational visitors for school groups, volunteers, community festivals, workshops, and meet-ups. We facilitate two coalitions of farmers and farmers markets. We encourage regenerative practices and prairie restoration.

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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.5%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 84.6%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.3%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.13; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.47; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.6%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 27.4% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.7% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.5% of revenue deployed · 84.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $732K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $66K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.