Montezuma School to Farm Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
844298006
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Cortez, CO, USA
Phone
9707910351
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$244,246
Expenses
$266,956
Assets
$366,574
Liabilities
$1,699

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAMES PATTON (PRESIDENT)
  • SORRELL REDFORD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • GREGORY FELSEN (DIRECTOR)
  • MICHELLE WALTMAN (DIRECTOR)
  • JAMES PATTON (PRESIDENT)

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

The montezuma school to farm project unites our local agricultural heritage with our growing future by engaging students at the crossroads of food production, resource conservation, and nutrition through educational experiences.

What it reported doing in 2025

Montezuma school to farm project (organization) provides monthly garden lessons for pre-kindergarten through 5th grade students at kemper elementary and mesa elementary school in cortez, Colorado, and biweekly garden lessons at mancos elementary school in mancos, Colorado. The organization also provides a nine-week middle school elective course at the mancos middle school and offers enrichment activities for middle school students and additional programs on fridays when students are not in school. The organization served 184 students in friday programs and provided 348 hours of lessons to montezuma county students. On average, the organization serves approximately 1,000 students every month during the school year, throughout montezuma county. These lessons include critical concepts for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics topics that align with Colorado state academic standards and next generation science standards. The lessons combine tastings of nutritional foods within the gardens and holistic models that include aspects of several interconnecting disciplines. These lessons are the organizations largest program and primary focus. The organization provided over 10,000 tastings of fresh food to students during in-school and out-of-school lessons. The organization utilizes six school gardens and a two-acre production plot to grow over 5,000 pounds of fresh produce and donates it throughout the community. All the food is distributed via donations to community members, food pantries, and food shares. Using resource conserving and sustainable agricultural processes, the organization responsibly grows local, organic, and nutrient dense food while teaching and serving the students of montezuma county, Colorado.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 85% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.7%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 76.5%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $130.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: -9.3%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.37; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -13% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.7% of revenue deployed · 76.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $204K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.