The Sterling Cemetery
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 112493701
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2020
- Location
- Greenport, NY, USA
- Phone
- 6314770573
- Rating
- 72
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Cemeteries
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $104,943
- Expenses
- $61,928
- Assets
- $610,604
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- PATRICK WALDEN (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- ROBIN WALDEN (SECRETARY/TR)
- PATRICK WALDEN (PRESIDENT)
- CANDEE PERHAM (TRUSTEE)
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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
By law, cemetery associations may acquire, own, manage, and control cemeteries. Cemetery associations must be organized in accordance with the non-profit corporate laws. Associations may not be organized to engage in speculation in cemetery lots and property, or operating for private gain, either directly or indirectly, of any association member. The association's board of directors and/or trustees must hold an annual association meeting at which it must accept an annual financial statement that contains and accounting of association income and expenses for the preceding fiscal year and an accounting of association assets. Cemetery associations may enact bylaws providing for the care and management of all burial lots, and the protection of all shrubs, trees, fences and monuments. The incorporators, organizers, or members of an association, or, if none are living, the owners of the burial lots, by a majority of vote, amy amend the articles of association or bylaws. Associations may rece
What it reported doing in 2025
By law, cemetery associations may acquire, own, manage, and control cemeteries. Cemetery associations must be organized in accordance with the non-profit corporate laws. Associations may not be organized to engage in speculation in cemetery lots and property, or operating for private gain, either directly or indirectly, of any association member. The association's board of directors and/or trustees must hold an annual association meeting at which it must accept an annual financial statement that contains and accounting of association income and expenses for the preceding fiscal year and an accounting of association assets. Cemetery associations may enact bylaws providing for the care and management of all burial lots, and the protection of all shrubs, trees, fences and monuments. The incorporators, organizers, or members of an association, or, if none are living, the owners of the burial lots, by a majority of vote, amy amend the articles of association or bylaws. Associations may receive and hold in trust donations that must be invested as the law requires for the investment of trust funds, except when the donors otherwise authorize. Association officers, directors, or trustees may not serve as an officer, director, or trustee of any other company that manages or operates any aspect of the cemetery.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 71% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 55
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 70
- Sustainability: 84
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 43.6%; rating input score 44
- Program expense ratio: 92.2%; rating input score 92
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: 41%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.86; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 43.6% of revenue deployed · 92.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 16 of 16 current checks pass
- Schedules: 1 filed schedules
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- 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 44/100.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.