Kearsarge Food Hub Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
473909093
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bradford, NH, USA
Phone
6039385323
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Agricultural Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$902,476
Expenses
$857,884
Assets
$832,674
Liabilities
$67,671

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • FRANCE HAHN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • LAUREN HOWARD (FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • FRANCE HAHN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $63,408 total reported compensation
  • HANNA FLANDERS (FORMER DIRECTOR): $54,064 total reported compensation
  • LAUREN HOWARD (FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $52,789 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Kearsarge food hub's mission is to reinvigorate our community within a restorative local food system by cultivating food sovereignty, growing engaged learners, and nurturing community. We accomplish this through our food access and security work, food and farm-based education and community building, partnerships and leadership. We serve the greater kearsarge/lake sunapee region (merrimack and sullivan counties) of New Hampshire. The kearsarge food hub envisions a resilient and connected community where everyone is empowered to access healthy food, where local farmers are supported and the land is nourished and where all people share a common sense of place.

What it reported doing in 2024

Sweet beet farm grows organic, nutrient-dense vegetables (20,000 lbs in 2024) for market while exploring regenerative practices to nurture the land, pursuing farm-based education initiatives to engage the community, and helping to grow farmers in nh. On the farm, kfh offers hands-on learning opportunities with programs serving 240+ students from 1st grade - college, apprenticeships, and shared learning networks for farmers and lifelong learners. The farming methods used and taught support environmental sustainability through low-impact tools and equipment, eliminating the use of harmful chemicals and inputs, employing ecologically-minded approaches, and reducing on-farm waste.

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 88% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 70.4%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: 4.9%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.97; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.2%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 30.9% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 29.2% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 70.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $604K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $63K · 19 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 30 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.