Marin Organic

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
680449130
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2015
Forms available
Form 990 2015
Location
Point Reyes Station, CA, USA
Phone
4156639667
Rating
59
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$136,435
Expenses
$155,477
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PEGGY SMITH (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • GIBSON THOMAS (BOARD MEMBER)
  • JILL GIACOMINI BASCH (BOARD MEMBER)
  • JANET BROWN (BOARD MEMBER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Marin organic's mission is to promote organic agriculture, provide food system education, and increase access to fresh produce for people in need.

What it reported doing in 2015

Other programs include the folllowing: supporting business program: allows retailers to join marin organic and become part of a powerful network of like-minded organizations providing local, organic food to consumers in marin county and beyond. Community events: a series of events where experts and authors from the field of organic agriculture present their work to and engage in discussion with the public. Food gleaning/access: marin organic partners with local organic farms to recover fresh produce that would otherwise get tilled under or composted because farmers would not make a profit by harvesting this food. In 2013 marin organic contributed over 10,000 pounds of fresh, organic produce to the san francisco/marin food bank and local food pantries, harvested by volunteers and staff. Marin organic also manages national gleaning day in order to broaden the scope of gleaning as a means to increase food security.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 72% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 39
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 42.3%; rating input score 42
  • Program expense ratio: 37.1%; rating input score 37
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th 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 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -14%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -48.3% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -29% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -52.9% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 42.3% of revenue deployed · 37.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $58K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2012 to 2015
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization is recorded as not currently operating in California.