Unity Gardens

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
270901122
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2012, Form 990-N 2010
Location
South Bend, IN, USA
Phone
5742222266
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Agricultural Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$879,354
Expenses
$659,710
Assets
$1,494,764
Liabilities
$39,896

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CARA LUPA (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • SARA STEWART (PresidentCEO): $58,000 total reported compensation
  • BARBARA SUTTON (Treasurer): $14,490 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 connect our community to healthy food, nature and each other We do this through supporting open gardens, free classes and programs

What it reported doing in 2024

2024 Free-Pick Orchards & Gardens: Unity Gardens connect our community to Fresh Food, Nature and one another through 40 free pick gardens and orchard sites. The 7 acre main site is the hub of operations. Through this site we support over 40 satellite gardens where our community can pick fresh fruits and vegetables without any barriers to access. The main site has garden guides who will help harvesters navigate the garden and discover the fruits and vegetables, sharing recipes, information on our programs, classes and More. Through our satellite gardens and community partners we also add to the available produce with a sharing shelf for 8637 garden visitors to enjoy. An estimated 200,000 pounds of fresh produce distributed to neighbors.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 80% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.7%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 78.8%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th 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: 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 25%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.27; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.9% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.7% of revenue deployed · 78.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $520K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $58K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.