The Growing Season Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 861376734
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2021–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Evanston, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3123208233
- Rating
- 67
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Service Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $-4,709,142
- Expenses
- $292,562
- Assets
- $2,784,468
- Liabilities
- $4,781,339
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LORI LASER (PRESIDENT)
- JOHN EASON (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- TIFFINI HOLMES (DIRECTOR AND CO-DEVELOPER): $44,500 total reported compensation
- BERENICE SANCHEZ (TREASURY): $9,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To promote individual and community wellness by developing spaces and projects in underserved communities where levels of unemployment and poverty limit opportunities, and by providing training, mentoring, holistic-health programs, and commercial opportunities through these spaces and projects to individuals who are from, and representative of, these communities and, consequently, are often unable to obtain such services and opportunities.
What it reported doing in 2024
The initiative focuses on the development of properties in communities where high unemployment and poverty limit opportunity, with the goal of revitalizing these areas through inclusive economic growth. It provides targeted assistance to racial-minority and low-income individuals by enabling them to own or operate commercial enterprises within the newly developed properties. In december 2024, the organization sold the aux, as initially planned to auxiliary cord llc, a community-owned entity that will carry the organization's mission and serve the community. The initiative promotes the emotional, physical, and financial well-being of community members through accessible, community-based training programs designed to build skills, resilience, and long-term success.
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. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 41
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 29
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 7.8%; rating input score 8
- Program expense ratio: 80%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $111.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -106.2%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.52; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.72; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 18.3%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: 27.7% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 7.8% of revenue deployed · 80% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $234K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $44K · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 8/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.