Pennsylvania Certified Organic
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 232885447
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Spring Mills, PA, USA
- Phone
- 8144220251
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Agricultural Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $8,232,274
- Expenses
- $7,990,907
- Assets
- $2,149,695
- Liabilities
- $1,188,369
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JOE MILLER (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- DIANA KOBUS (EXECUTIVE DI): $167,098 total reported compensation
- SARAH ROSE BROWN (CERTIFICATIO): $150,250 total reported compensation
- LISA DURAND (TOPP DIRECTO): $135,565 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To uphold and advance organic principles and practices through certification, advocacy, and technical support. We envision a world where agriculture systems prioritize health, ecological balance, fairness and care. Our values recognize the interdependent relationship among all our stakeholders: certified clients and members, employees and contractors, partner organizations, and the community and environment.
What it reported doing in 2024
Inspection and certification of growers, processors, and handlers of food products labeled "organic" - so as to protect the integrity of consumer products offered as such.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 66% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 72% for direct work, and 28% for grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 30
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 76%; rating input score 76
- Program expense ratio: 78.3%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $16.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 91.8%; rating input score 92; 27th 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 2.9%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.27; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.55; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 14.5% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 76% of revenue deployed · 78.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $167K · 12 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 32 of 34 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 32 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 28 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation 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 40/100.