Urban Roots Garden Classrooms

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010944615
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2011
Location
Reno, NV, USA
Phone
7756365105
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$827,097
Expenses
$770,939
Assets
$669,784
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JENNY ANGIUS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • LORI OLSEN (PRESIDENT)
  • SYDNEY CALLAHAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • BLAKE WILLIAMS (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SYDNEY CALLAHAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $69,020 total reported compensation
  • JENNY ANGIUS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $59,744 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Urban roots is mission driven to grow healthy minds, bodies, and communities through garden-based education.

What it reported doing in 2024

School year programming: urban roots uses gardening as a lens for teaching lessons that bolster academic achievement, increase healthy behaviors, inspire environmental consciousness, and cultivate a spirit for community service. During the washoe county school district school year. Urban roots hosted 684 campers at our farm camp, taught 226 preschoolers, hosted 1,722 students on field trips, taught 412 community memers at gardening cooking workshops, and taught 219 homeschoolers. Built 37 raised garden beds for 5 residences, 2 schools and one non-profit.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% 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.

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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 39
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 42.8%; rating input score 43
  • Program expense ratio: 46%; rating input score 46
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 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: 6.8%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.87; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.7%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 42.8% of revenue deployed · 46% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $354K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $69K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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: Mission deployment rate scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 46/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.