Washington Apple Education Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911638890
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Wenatchee, WA, USA
Phone
5096637713
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,632,259
Expenses
$1,786,965
Assets
$11,943,020
Liabilities
$4,618,541

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JENNIFER WITHERBEE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JENNIFER WITHERBEE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $147,248 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Washington apple education foundation is the charity of the tree fruit industry. Our mission is to impact lives through access to educational opportunities.

What it reported doing in 2025

Beyond the scholarship refers to activities provided in rural Washington school districts to train students how to access and receive scholarships and to support waef students degree attainment in four or fewer years and prepare them to launch their careers. These programs have been designed with first generation college students at the heart of the work. Traditional annual activities include scholarship training in 30+ high schools, monthly workshops, semi-annual career tours, and summer events providing education around networking, personal finances, career exploration and more.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 86% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 82% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • 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. Liabilities are high compared with assets and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.7%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 80.6%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $21.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 62; 62nd 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: 99.8%; rating input score 100; 47th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 32.1%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.68; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.2%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.7% of revenue deployed · 80.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $147K · 22 people listed
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.