Seeds FY2021 filing

Tax-deductible

Traverse City, MI501(c)(3)EnvironmentEIN 38-3482266

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Implement local solutions to global issues at the intersection of ecology, education, and design.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
95¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$73K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

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FY2021 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
4 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $175K a year · 7% of revenue · last 5 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
95%
of spending
Looks good: 95% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$73K
to officers and key staff · 3% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 3% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
4 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 4.2 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $15K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$357K
39% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 39% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
8
of 8 voting members
Looks good: 8 of 8 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$2.5M
+20% vs prior year
Spent
$2.2M
To programs
95%
Net assets
$552K
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$2.5M
FY2021▲ +20%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$2.1M
FY2021$2.5M
FY2022$2.5M
FY2023$2.7M
FY2024$3.3M
Expenses
$2.2M
FY2021▲ +10%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$2.0M
FY2021$2.2M
FY2022$2.2M
FY2023$2.8M
FY2024$3.1M
Net assets
$552K
FY2021▲ +180%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$197K
FY2021$552K
FY2022$812K
FY2023$757K
FY2024$954K

From the FY2021 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Sep 1999.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

95 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 95% · $2.0M Management & general 4% · $93K Fundraising 1% · $24K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

9 people listed on the 990; $73K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$72,709Pt VII · Sec A
Vice-Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Sarna Salzman’s $94K as Executive Director is at the 22nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 1851 $1–10M environment 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Sarna Salzman$93,569$81,303$73,886$72,709$75,874

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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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Builds local solutions for global issues using ecology, education, and design.

Provided by the organization

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3 program services account for $2.0M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2021.
01

K12 Teaching & Learning

In 2021, seeds provided over 92,000 student-contact hours of academic and cultural enrichment activities at 11 partner schools in rural northwest michigan serving over 1100 unique students.

$1.5Mprogram expense
02

Ecocorps Programming

In 2021, seeds employed 36 members who built or improved 63 miles of trail, enhanced 5 miles of riparian habitat, planted over 2000 trees, and added value to over 140 acres in 23 parks. Crew members in this green collar career exploration program serve their community while gaining valuable work experience, skills training, professional…

$375Kprogram expense
03

Energy and Environment

Seeds continues a tradition of offering professional analysis, assistance with 'green goals', and planning for resource management to units of local government and a variety of other community institutions.

$173Kprogram expense

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Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$15K

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$2.5M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$2.3M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$154K
Investment incomeLn 3$10K
Money outPt IX
$2.2M
Ln 25
Programscol B$2.0M
Managementcol C$93K
Fundraisingcol D$24K
Owns and owesPt X
$552K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$751K
Total assetsLn 16$909K
LiabilitiesLn 26$357K
PeoplePt VI, VII
9
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a8
IndependentVI 1b8
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$2.3M
Government grantsLn 1e$1.7M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$154K
Investment incomeLn 3$10K
Other incomeLn 4–11$308
Gains on assetsLn 7$10K
Total revenueLn 12$2.5M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$751K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$751K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2K
Total assetsLn 16$909K
LiabilitiesLn 26$357K
Net assetsLn 32$552K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5120
VolunteersI 631
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$494K$751K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$12K$2K
Total assetsLn 16$552K$909K
LiabilitiesLn 26$348K$357K
Net assetsLn 32$204K$552K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$73K$73K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$1.5M$1.3M$98K$24K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$187K$169K$19K
Office expensesLn 13$3K$247$2K
OccupancyLn 16$32K$4K$28K
TravelLn 17$54K$41K$13K
InterestLn 20$90$90
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$10K$10K
InsuranceLn 23$39K$18K$21K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$303K$264K$38K$139
All other expensesLn 24e$1K$138K−$137K
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.2M$2.0M$93K$24K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest $3.3M$3.1M$197K$954K 990 PDF
FY2023 $2.7M$2.8M−$56K$757K 990 PDF
FY2022 $2.5M$2.2M$261K$812K 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $2.5M$2.2M$347K$552K 990 PDF
FY2020 $2.1M$2.0M$125K$197K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2021 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,507,504 across 8 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$1,745,300
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$597,735
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$2,343,035
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $154,271$154,271
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax −$118−$118
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $10,008$10,008
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $308$308
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $154,579 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $9,890$2,507,504
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,160,397 across 11 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $72,709$72,709
IX-6 Pay of disqualified personsPrograms $1,336,024 · Management $97,905 · Fundraising $24,246$1,458,175
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $168,600 · Management $18,630$187,230
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $247 · Management $2,386$2,633
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $4,022 · Management $28,465$32,487
IX-17 TravelPrograms $41,184 · Management $12,744$53,928
IX-20 InterestManagement $90$90
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationManagement $9,794$9,794
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $18,137 · Management $21,218$39,355
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $264,198 · Management $38,373 · Fundraising $139$302,710
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $138,036 · Management −$136,750$1,286
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $2,043,157 · Management $92,855 · Fundraising $24,385$2,160,397
Part X · Balance sheet $908,858 assets, 11 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $494,386$751,465
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $43,352$145,269
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $2,618$10,513
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $11,897$1,611
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $552,253$908,858
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $84,595$90,481
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $251,474$266,815
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $347,798$357,296
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $204,455$551,562
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $204,455$551,562
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $552,253$908,858
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $551,562 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$2,507,504
XI-2 Total expenses$2,160,397
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$347,107
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$204,455
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$551,562

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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