Sawtooth Botanical Garden

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
820475551
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Sun Valley, ID, USA
Phone
2087269358
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Botanical Gardens, Arboreta and Botanical Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$370,774
Expenses
$466,434
Assets
$1,860,750
Liabilities
$56,530

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JEN SMITH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • JOLYON SAWREY (CHAIR)
  • CHARLIE FOWLER (DIRECTOR)
  • SUSAN THURSTON (DIRECTOR)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The sawtooth botanical garden is a community resource showcasing native and cultivated plants that flourish at high altitude. The garden connects people to the regions beauty and fosters environmental stewardship through education, events, displays and plant collections.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community education projects: provided educational workshops, published newsletters, and provided garden tours

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.4%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 68.9%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th 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: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -25.8%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.99; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.4% of revenue deployed · 68.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $321K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.