Vital Communities INC EIN 03-0355283 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Vital Communities INC

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Boosts the Upper Valley's civic, environmental, and economic health. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $1.6M in revenue, $2.5M in expenses, and $907K in net assets.Pt I

Founded
1998
Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Community Development
Location
White River Jct, VT
Website
www.vitalcommunities.org
Filings
4 on file (2021–2024)
Revenue
$1.6MFY2024
Expenses
$2.5M
Net assets
$907K
People
16
Filings
4
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  03-0355283 Public charity (501(c)(3)) White River Jct, VT Founded 1998
Form 990 (PDF)
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Boosts the Upper Valley's civic, environmental, and economic health.
Leadership
Sarah Jackson · Executive Director · $146K
Money in and out
$1.6M revenue, $2.5M expenses
Bottom line
57% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$1.6M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$2.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$907K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$921K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.57 Management & general $0.36 Fundraising $0.08
Program efficiency
57%
of spending reaches programs▼ -13% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
3.8mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -45% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-58%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -186% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$1.6M
FY2024▼ -17%
Expenses
$2.5M
FY2024▲ +9%
Total assets
$1.3M
FY2024▼ -41%
Total liabilities
$345K
FY2024▲ +15%
Total revenue
$1.6M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$2.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$907K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$921K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$1.3M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B57%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 314
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 414

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CVital Communities INC
EINHdr · item D03-0355283
Principal addressHdr · item CWhite River Jct, VT
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.vitalcommunities.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1998
State of legal domicileHdr · item MVT
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFCommunity Development (S21)
Ruling yearIRS BMFJul 1998

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a14
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b14
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$146,025Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary as of Jan 2025
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Sarah Jackson’s $146K as Executive Director is at the 44th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2834 $1–10M community development nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Sarah Jackson$146,025$122,269$102,496$87,629$16,557
Tom Roberts$71,089

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $885K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Food & Farm

During FY25 we managed projects that support farm viability, access to locally grown food, food system resilience, education, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Our projects included farm to school, farm to early childhood education, climate farmer stories, and the upper valley resilience network.

$457Kprogram expense
02

Housing

During FY25, we supported upper valley planners, developers, employers, municipal leaders, property owners, and community groups so that they can work together to create more places to live.

$272Kprogram expense
03

Transportation

During FY25 we supported upper valley communities' efforts to create a safe, reliable and multimodal transportation system that is affordable, increases community resilience, and minimizes climate impact.

$156Kprogram expense

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$1.4M · 91%
Program service revenue$140K · 9%
Contributions & grants91%$1.4M
Program service revenue9%$140K
Investment income$365
Other revenue$1K
— government grantsLn 1e$275K
Total revenueLn 12$1.6M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.57 Management & general $0.36 Fundraising $0.08
Program services57%$1.4M
Management & general36%$892K
Fundraising8%$192K
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.5M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$782K
Total assetsLn 16$1.3M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$345K
Total net assetsLn 32$907K
Months of cash on handcomputed3.8

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $782K · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $2.5M · Less non-cash grants $2K · Cash operating expenses/yr $2.5M
3.8 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $1.4M · Total expenses $2.5M
57%
Management & General
Management & general $892K · Total expenses $2.5M
36%
Fundraising
Fundraising $192K · Total expenses $2.5M
8%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $220K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $1.6M
$0.14 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $1.4M · Total revenue $1.6M
91%
Government reliance
Government grants $275K · Total revenue $1.6M
17%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $140K · Total revenue $1.6M
9%
Investment reliance
Investment income $365 · Total revenue $1.6M
+0.02%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $140K · Total expenses $2.5M
6%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $1.6M · Prior year $1.9M
-17%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $3.0M · FY2024 $1.6M
-15%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $907K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $1.6M · Expenses $2.5M
-58%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $1.3M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $907K · Total assets $1.3M
72%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $1.3M
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Sarah Jackson · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $146K · Total expenses $2.5M
6%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $1.6M · Total expenses $2.5M
66%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 57%
Overhead ratio 36%
Fundraising cost ratio 13%
Revenue growth -17%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$300K
Grants paid · 14 grants · $498K · 2021–2024
Moon and Stars CorpNH · FY2024$9,092
Kearsarge Food HubNH · FY2024$7,777
Feeding the Valley AllianceVT · FY2024$7,285
Ottauquechee Natural Resources Conservation DistrictFY2024$5,900
Sullivan County Conservation DistrictFY2024$5,235
Sustainable Woodstock INCVT · FY2023$6,536
Global Village FoodsFY2022$163,400
Unitemized GrantFY2021$1,200
Unitemized GrantFY2021$300

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024$1.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$3.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$2.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$3.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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