The Hardy Plant Society of Oregon

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
930884453
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5032245718
Rating
56
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Garden Club, Horticultural Program

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$434,524
Expenses
$437,915
Assets
$373,870
Liabilities
$64,487

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ZOE NIELSEN (BOARD PRESIDENT)
  • VICKI GREEN (BOARD FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • ELOISE MORGAN (BOARD VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • MARCIA SPARLING (BOARD VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • AMY COULTER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMY COULTER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $67,312 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the hardy plant society of Oregon is to nurture the gardening community through education, leadership, and support of its members and of other gardening and horticultural organizations.

What it reported doing in 2024

Membership and publications: the hardy plant society of Oregon (hpso) connects members to each other with the open gardens program, 12 special interest groups, and a reading room; to plant experts through workshops and in-person and virtual lectures; and to local specialist nurseries through private on-site nursery events that include presentations and facility tours. The open gardens program logged approx. 3,000 visits to 83 member gardens in fiscal year 2024/25. Hpso produces a full-color magazine four times a year with original content germane to the pacific northwest in both paper and digital formats. Continued on schedule o. Hpso emails members a weekly newsletter from february through november, further connecting people to hpso's own programming and events and to opportunities to learn about gardening practices, plants, soil, insects, pruning, and pests provided by other organizations in the pacific northwest.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 92% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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 - Most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 50
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.7%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 59.3%; rating input score 59
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th 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: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.85; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.4%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.7% of revenue deployed · 59.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $259K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $67K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes foreign activity
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 36/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.