Project Grows INC EIN 46-1070735

Project Grows INC

Not yet claimed Claim this org →

Improves children's health through food education and access in Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $418K in revenue, $557K in expenses, and $354K in net assets.Pt I

Founded
2012
Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Food & Agriculture
Location
Staunton, VA
Website
www.projectgrows.org
Filings
6 on file (2020–2025)
Revenue
$418KFY2025
Expenses
$557K
Net assets
$354K
People
11
Filings
6
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  46-1070735 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Staunton, VA Founded 2012
Form 990 (PDF)
Compare with another nonprofit →
Is this your organization?
Claim this profile to manage it and share your story.
Claim
Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Project Grows INC claims this page.

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Improves children's health through food education and access in Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County.
Leadership
Clara Metzler · Executive Di · $63K
Money in and out
$418K revenue, $557K expenses
Bottom line
78% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$418K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$557K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$354K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$139K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.78 Management & general $0.11 Fundraising $0.11
Program efficiency
78%
of spending reaches programs▼ -2% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
1.9mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -34% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-33%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -755% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$418K
FY2025▼ -35%
Expenses
$557K
FY2025▼ -8%
Total assets
$423K
FY2025▼ -17%
Total liabilities
$68K
FY2025▲ +309%
Total revenue
$418K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$557K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$354K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$139K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$423K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B78%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 310
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 410
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

2 program services account for $435K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2025.
01

Equitable Access

Project grows provides equitable access to affordable, nutritious food to support healthy choices for peopole of all ages in our community. Our programs include a mobile market that delivers over 13,000 pounds of fresh, affordable food annually to senior centers,public housing, and childcare centers; regular food donations to communities…

$306Kprogram expense
02

Food Education

Project grows provides food education both on our farm and throughout the community to build knowledge, skills, and confidence in growing, cooking, and eating healthy foods. Our programs include hands-on farm and garden experiences such as field trips, summer camps, and school garden lessons, as well as first-time job opportunities for…

$129Kprogram expense

Run this program? Claim this org to tell your story

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CProject Grows INC
EINHdr · item D46-1070735
Principal addressHdr · item CStaunton, VA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.projectgrows.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2012
State of legal domicileHdr · item MVA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFFood & Agriculture (K40)
Ruling yearIRS BMFApr 2016

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a10
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b10
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 Di
$63,300Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Clara Metzler’s $63K as Executive Di is at the 67th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1173 $100K–1M food & agriculture 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Clara Metzler$63,300$61,800$48,461
Annie Sachs$15,508$55,731
Tom Brenneman$35,688$39,184
Courtney Cranor$1,840

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.

See Project Grows INC executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$212K · 51%
Program service revenue$206K · 49%
Contributions & grants51%$212K
Program service revenue49%$206K
Investment income$351
— government grantsLn 1e$15K
Total revenueLn 12$418K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.78 Management & general $0.11 Fundraising $0.11
Program services78%$435K
Management & general11%$60K
Fundraising11%$62K
Total functional expensesLn 25$557K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$87K
Total assetsLn 16$423K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$68K
Total net assetsLn 32$354K
Months of cash on handcomputed1.9

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $87K · Operating expenses/yr $557K
1.9 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $435K · Total expenses $557K
78%
Management & General
Management & general $60K · Total expenses $557K
11%
Fundraising
Fundraising $62K · Total expenses $557K
11%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $63K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $211K
$0.30 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $212K · Total revenue $418K
51%
Government reliance
Government grants $15K · Total revenue $418K
4%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $206K · Total revenue $418K
49%
Investment reliance
Investment income $351 · Total revenue $418K
+0.08%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $206K · Total expenses $557K
37%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $418K · Prior year $640K
-35%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $390K · FY2025 $418K
+1%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $354K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $418K · Expenses $557K
-33%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $423K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $354K · Total assets $423K
84%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $423K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Clara Metzler · Reported title EXECUTIVE DI · Highest reported compensation $63K · Total expenses $557K
11%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $383K · Total expenses $557K
69%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 78%
Overhead ratio 11%
Fundraising cost ratio 29%
Revenue growth -35%

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 · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$20K

Similar Organizations

Closest in mission — by what they do
See all organizations like Project Grows INC →

Compare

Search another nonprofit to view revenue, expenses, assets, key metrics, and leaders side by side

Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$418K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$640K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$560K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$423K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$685K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$390K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the peer-cohort and compensation comparisons above.