Portland Fruit Tree Project
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 930719546
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2008
- Location
- Portland, OR, United States
- Phone
- (503) 284-6106
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $335,507
- Expenses
- $364,298
- Assets
- $52,888
- Liabilities
- $42,824
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Heather Keisler Fornes (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Heather Keisler Fornes (Executive Director): $57,901 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Caring for and Harvesting from the Trees That Feed and Shade Our Neighborhoods
What it reported doing in 2024
Portland Fruit Tree Project another record year in 2024, harvesting 108 times and over 15,000 lbs of fruit that went to communities experiencing food insecurity. The organization also provided tree care for services for more households than in any past year and deepened the care provided to five community orchard spaces resulting in healthier and more productive trees around the region. With support from a partnership with Oregon State University Technical Assistance, we hosted 12 paid teen interns in a seasonal orchard care program where they learned work skills as well as how to tend fruit trees and use the fruit produced. For many, this was their first paid work experience. All of the participants lived in, or went to school in, East Portland - a region with lower tree canopy, more food deserts, and fewer opportunities for young people to find employment.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 89% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 17
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84.3%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 77.7%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -8.6%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.15; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.81; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 15.9%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -5.2% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -23.5% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 84.3% of revenue deployed · 77.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $283K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $58K · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 44 of 44 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.