Soil Health Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
475349004
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Morrisville, NC, USA
Phone
9192300303
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,938,672
Expenses
$8,395,539
Assets
$7,032,578
Liabilities
$1,110,425

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHARLES WAYNE HONEYCUTT (PRESIDENT/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHARLES WAYNE HONEYCUTT (PRESIDENT/CEO): $396,247 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTINE MORGAN (CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER): $316,384 total reported compensation
  • STACY CARSON (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $220,122 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The soil health institute is a global non-profit with a mission of safeguarding and enhancing the vitality and productivity of soils through scientific research and advancement. The institute brings(continued on schedule o) together leaders in soil health science and the industry to conduct research and empower farmers and other landowners with the knowledge to successfully adopt regenerative soil health systems that contribute economic and environmental benefits to agriculture and society.

What it reported doing in 2025

The soil health institute's comprehensive strategy to safeguard and enhance the vitality and productivity of soil employs four levers of change: business case, measurement, research & development, and education & outreach. We collaborate with farmers and ranchers, advisors, government officials, and industry professionals to enable standardized, scientifically credible soil health decision making at scale. In the business case, shi published research on more than 160 north american farms that demonstrates long-term adoption of soil health (continued on schedule o)systems reduces costs, increases net income, and mitigates risks across climates and production systems. In measurement, shi recommended 3 essential soil health indicators and established how healthy soils can become on more than 19 million acres of cropland so farmers, advisors, and industry can set soil health goals and track progress. In research and development, shi is developing tools to more accurately model and measure improvements in soil health, like water storage and availability, carbon storage, greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient availability, and erosion. In education, shi established and conducted soil health education programs for farmers and their advisors across 35 u.s. States and three canadian provinces to provide them with tools, resources, and information they need to successfully adopt profitable, resilient, and environmentally sound regenerative soil health systems.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 87% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 94
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 91.9%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $28.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 70.8%; rating input score 71; 24th 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: -21%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.84; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.3%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 91.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $7.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $396K · 20 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $597K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.