Vystar Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
872247208
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Jacksonville, FL, USA
Phone
9044204244
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$682,251
Expenses
$692,324
Assets
$873,410
Liabilities
$3

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PATRICIA MCELROY (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • DIANE FEARS (DIRECTOR)
  • NINA WATERS (DIRECTOR)
  • ELLEN WISS (DIRECTOR)

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

Vystar foundation is dedicated to doing good and leading by example through collaborative partnerships that support youth, military members and veterans, and overall community vitality in the areas served by vystar credit union.

What it reported doing in 2025

Kennesaw state university received a youth grant in 2025 in the amount of $200,000 to expand food access initiatives through care services to reduce food insecurity and improve overall student well-being; provide comprehensive support to our military-connected students, including assistance with navigating gi benefits, offering transition support, and creating engagement opportunities; and to improve the retention and success rates of students who have experienced homelessness or foster care, ensuring they receive the support needed to transition smoothly into college life and thrive.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 66% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 96% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.8%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 94.4%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.2%; rating input score 99; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.5%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.26; rating input score 50; 50th 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 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 30.3% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.5% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 35.2% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.8% of revenue deployed · 94.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $654K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 18 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 23 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 23 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.