Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
046112356
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
West Tisbury, MA, USA
Phone
5086939549
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Fairs

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,111,756
Expenses
$1,048,540
Assets
$4,200,310
Liabilities
$519,011

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LAUREN LYNCH (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LAUREN LYNCH (PRESIDENT): $96,058 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The martha's vineyard agricultural society supports a resilient and sustainable agricultural community on martha's vineyard. We do this by:- offering services, education, marketing, and technical support for farmers and farmworkers on the island.- hosting education and events to increase community awareness of and engagement in local agriculture.- providing a space for our partners and community members to gather, learn, and collaborate.

What it reported doing in 2024

The society promotes the pursuit of agriculture, horticulture, land conservation, youth activities, mechanic and domestic arts and encourages the raising and improving of plant and animal stock and the sale of island-grown products and flowers at local farmers' markets. In 2018, the society re-introduced 4h to island youth and in 2020 established a distinct dukes county farm bureau to advocate for the unique needs and concerns of island farmers at the state level. Today, the ag hall continues as the heart of the island's farming and producing community, providing a home to the martha's vineyard agricultural fair and livestock show, the farmers social, the farmworkers social, the barn raisers ball, the meat ball and the harvest festival. The society also hosts many community speakers, events, and meetings. We also offer our space to other island organizations, including the artisans festival and west tisbury farmers market.

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 95% 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.2%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 85%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $75.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 63.9%; rating input score 64; 31st 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: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.7%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.01; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.2%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.2% of revenue deployed · 85% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $891K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $96K · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 28 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.