Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
710844535
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Jonesborough, TN, USA
Phone
4792518310
Rating
53
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Farmland Preservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,226
Expenses
$24,300
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SERA DEVA (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • JOHN PATRICK (DIRECTOR)
  • KAVITA KOPPA (DIRECTOR)
  • ELIZABETH YOUNG (PAST PRESIDE)

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 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Empower and inspire farmers, individuals, and communities in the south to create an agriculture system that is ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just, and humane, because sustainable solutions depend on the involvement of the entire community, southern sawg is committed to including all persons in the south without bias.

What it reported doing in 2020

Annual conference - southern sawg's highly regarded practical tools and solutions for sustaining family farms annual conference is the leading forum in the south for learning about organic and sustainable farming techniques, direct marketing strategies, community food systems, and policies and programs that promote sustainable agriculture.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 24
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 33.5%; rating input score 34
  • Program expense ratio: 14.1%; rating input score 14
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: -137.6%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -26.3% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -27.5% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -40.7% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 33.5% of revenue deployed · 14.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $3K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 15 of 15 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2015 to 2020
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 34/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.