National Sunflower Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
450362201
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Mandan, ND, USA
Phone
7017120095
Rating
39
Verdict
REVIEW
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,980,158
Expenses
$2,127,178
Assets
$2,671,059
Liabilities
$221,425

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHUCK TODD (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN SANDBAKKEN (EXECUTIVE DI): $195,867 total reported compensation
  • TOM KIRKMEYER (CHAIRMAN): $1,920 total reported compensation
  • CHUCK TODD (PRESIDENT): $1,760 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 national sunflower association is a nonprofit corporation organized to foster the development, use, and marketing of sunflowers. These objectives are carried out through the association's involvement in the market access program, the foreign market development program, legislative activities, sunflower magazine, research, and other domestic sunflower promotions.

What it reported doing in 2024

Research projects production issues: the 1 priority for the national sunflower association is improved genetic progress in sunflower to enhance competitiveness with other crops and stability of yield and quality using genomic tools. Insects: the 1 priority is red sunflower seed weevil challenges that are inhibiting South Dakota sunflower acreage. The issue is larger than just insecticide resistance and may also include rssw biology, genetics, and seasonal population dispersion. An all of the above approach is needed. Weeds: the 1 priority is innovative weed control strategies using existing and experimental chemistries to address palmer amaranth, horseweed (marestail), waterhemp and multiple moa resistant kochia. Diseases: phomopsis stem canker is the 1 disease priority for the national sunflower association. Proposals aimed at studying pathogen biology and improving (or leading to the improvement) disease management tools. Product utilization and environmental impacts: the 1 priority for the national sunflower association is quantification of sunflowers carbon footprint and environmental sustainability, including the renewable diesel industry and carbon sequestration impacts.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 71% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

REVIEW - Most voting board members are independent and the filed numbers largely add up. 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: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th 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: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 94%; rating input score 94; 41st 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -7.4%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.26; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.5%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -1.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $196K · 21 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $915K reported
  • Consistency: 14 of 16 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 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: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.