Southside Community Land Trust
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 050394224
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Providence, RI, USA
- Phone
- 4012739419
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,703,230
- Expenses
- $2,871,055
- Assets
- $6,696,836
- Liabilities
- $1,764,361
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ROCHELLE LEE (PRESIDENT)
- LUIS VARGAS (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MARGARET DEVOS (EX OFFICIO): $142,720 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Southside community land trust's mission is to provide access to land, education and other resources so people in Rhode Island can grow food in environmentally sustainable ways and create community food systems where locally produced, affordable and healthy food is available to all.
What it reported doing in 2024
Sclt owns and manages 50+ community gardens, urban and peri-urban farms in providence, pawtucket, central falls and cranston. We provide gardeners and farmers with education, gardening resources and access to land where they can grow their own, healthy food. We also expose 225 children to gardening and nutrition education each year, including 25-30 youth and young adults who work part-time managing sclt's youth enterprise farm, acquiring workplace skills, conducting community outreach and teaching young children about healthy eating and basic gardening skills. High school and young adult staff expand their knowledge of agriculture through field trips and work at partner organizations, as well as develop leadership and advocacy skills around the availability of affordable, fresh food and public health.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 58
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 74
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 64.2%; rating input score 64
- Program expense ratio: 59.9%; rating input score 60
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -6.2%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.33; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 13.6% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 64.2% of revenue deployed · 59.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $143K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.