Woodstock Agricultural Society Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 060923729
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Woodstock, CT, USA
- Phone
- 8609283246
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Fairs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,780,849
- Expenses
- $1,718,570
- Assets
- $7,183,521
- Liabilities
- $121,667
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
27 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JEFFREY SANDNESS (DIRECTOR & PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MARC ALLARD (DIRECTOR & GENERAL MANAGER): $40,000 total reported compensation
- MONA LEE (ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARY): $7,869 total reported compensation
- GAIL WHITE (DIRECTOR & TREASURER): $6,000 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 educate and promote agriculture to the community by holding exhibitions and demonstrations of farm animals, home baked goods, sewing, canning, flowers & vegetables.
What it reported doing in 2024
The woodstock agricultural society inc. Was founded in 1859 to educate, promote, preserve and perpetuate the local agricultural industry, rural heritage and the home arts. This tradition continues today through a 4 day agricultural country fair presented on labor day weekend. The bars, exhibition halls, and fairgrounds are filled with cattle, poultry, sheep, fruits and vegetables including giant pumpkins. Also displayed are photography, fine arts and crafts, classic trucks, tractors and early period displays in the brunn barn museum. The woodstock fair is one of the largest fairs in new england with over 1000 participants and exhibitors. The society is dedicated to working with the local community and has hosted the annual "celebrating agriculture" event on the fairgrounds since its inception in 2001. Each year the society awards eleven scholarships of $1250 each to local students. The fairgrounds are used in the off season for several events including fundraising for other non-profit organizations as well as horse show events on the lower grounds.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 93% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 43
- Sustainability: 60
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90.7%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 93.6%; rating input score 94
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 85.9%; rating input score 86; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.5%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.18; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 90.7% of revenue deployed · 93.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 26 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $40K · 27 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $128K reported
- Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 12 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.
- Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.