Merryspring Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237331450
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Camden, ME, USA
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Parks and Playgrounds

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$253,491
Expenses
$231,146
Assets
$1,048,408
Liabilities
$3,779

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RAY ANDRESEN (PRESIDENT)
  • KARIN RECTOR (VICE-PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • JOHN FROMER (TRUSTEE)
  • DENNIS MILLIKEN (TRUSTEE)
  • SUSAN SHAW (TRUSTEE)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To practice, teach and advocate sound principles of ecology, conservation and horticulture in order to protect our natural environment. To provide natural landscapes and cultivated areas for the public enjoyment.

What it reported doing in 2025

Provides horticultural, ecology and conservation education through talks and lectures and maintains a horticultural library. Maintains the park as a facility open to the public which is free of admission. Delivered educational programming to 1,546 people in 2025. Held a 50th anniversary celebration in 2024. Continues the invasive plant remediation project.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% 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

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.4%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 69.7%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.63 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 64th 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: 8.8%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.54; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.4% of revenue deployed · 69.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $161K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.