Sauvie Island Center

What it reported doing in 2025

The Sauvie Island Center(SIC) hosted no cost (including transportation) farm-field trips for more than 25,000 students from Title 1 elementary schools during its 20-plus year operation. Most students participated in two field trips, one in the fall and a second in the spring. During field trips, students rotate through three 45-minute lessons designed to support Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). These guidelines support specific learning outcomes required by the State of Oregon. Students also tasted, and took home, a variety of the same fruits and vegetables that they saw growing on the farm. The SIC visited hundreds of Title 1 elementary schools, providing a complementary lesson about the journey food takes from the farm to table. SIC is proud of its long-standing partnership with Portland State Universitys Capstone program. More than 600 graduating seniors participated in the service-learning Capstone which covered food systems and their impact on BIPOC and under-served communities. Approximately 30 students participated in training on, then teaching, SICs curriculum to elementary school students. Education staff members from SIC shadowed Capstone students, met with them regularly to go over performance and conducted end of season evaluations.Each summer SIC hosted four weeks of farm camp for approximately 100 students. Two weeks of camp were offered on a sliding scale, with more than half of enrollees paying a no/low fee for 30 hours of farm-based instruction and recreation. During their time on the farm campers spent each of their five days focusing on SICs five-part NGSS aligned curriculum: pollinators, soil health, plant parts, plant life cycles and the food web. SIC is proud of its efforts to expand the organizations cultural competence while also supporting green-sector workforce training opportunities for BIPOC youth. Working with another 501 c 3, Connecting Canopies, SIC provided farm-based service learning opportunities at no charge to to adults seeking freen sector workfoce training. Training sessions were led by BIPOC educators and included lessons about regenerative agriculture and Traditional Ecological Knowledge.SIC expanded its partnership with the Sauvie Island School. Staff members developed custom curricula for all 8 grades, led weekly lessons on site at the school and designed eight garden beds (one for each grade) and a mini-food forest.In the 4th quarter of 2024 SIC dissolved operations and transitioned the majority of its programs to the Learning Gardens Lab, a program operated by Portland State University which transitioned to a 501 c 3 in Q4 of 2024. The curriculum, equipment, customer and donor lists were all donated to the Learning Gardens Lab. One grant with funds remaining Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District) was transitioned to the Learning Gardens Lab for completion of the 2024/2025 field trip contract.Also in the 4th quarter, SIC transitioned a small portion of the program to the Sauvie Island School (also a 501 c 3). Funds remaining on a West Multmomah Soil & Water Conservation District Grant were committed to the Sauvie Island School in late 2024 and paid out in 2025.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 90.5%; rating input score 91

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -351.6%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
• Officer compensation ratio: 13.6%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -12.5% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings