To enable students to enrich their knowledge of nutrition, connect with their community, and become stewards of the environment.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
93¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 200 volunteers and 30 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2023 · 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
FY2023
latest Form 990
Fine: the latest return is for FY2023, 3 tax years back; within 3 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 4
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $181K a year · 14% of revenue · last 4 filings
Fine: a surplus in 3 of the last 4 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 4 filings
Spent on programs
93%
of spending
Looks good: 93% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
3 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 2.6 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
17
named funders · $852K
Looks good: 17 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$25K
4% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 4% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
10
of 10 voting members
Looks good: 10 of 10 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$2.3M
+60% vs prior year
Spent
$2.1M
To programs
93%
Net assets
$556K
By yearFY2020–FY2023
Revenue
$2.3M
FY2023▲ +60%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$603K
FY2021$668K
FY2022$1.5M
FY2023$2.3M
Expenses
$2.1M
FY2023▲ +107%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$670K
FY2021$573K
FY2022$1.0M
FY2023$2.1M
Net assets
$556K
FY2023▲ +7%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020−$26K
FY2021$63K
FY2022$521K
FY2023$556K

From the FY2023 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2023. IRS ruling in Jun 2015.

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

Where the money goes

93 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 93% · $1.9M Management & general 7% · $145K Fundraising 0% · $10K

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

1 person listed on the 990.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Chief Executive Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Selma Sims’s $73K as Chief Executive Officer is at the 15th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3395 $1–10M education 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2022FY2021FY2020
Selma Sims$72,516$59,583—
Jessica Zander——$72,500
Adam Zmick——$9,732

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 15aNo

Programs and updates

Teaches students about nutrition, community, and environmental stewardship.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $1.9M · in their own filed words · FY2023
01

The organization established school garden, and conducted garden based lessons on a weekly BASIS.THE organization is the only organization in chicago to implent year round garden educationprograms

$1.9Mprogram expense

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 · FY2024
See all 17 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$2.3M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$2.1M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$267K
Money outPt IX
$2.1M
Ln 25
Programscol B$1.9M
Managementcol C$145K
Fundraisingcol D$10K
Owns and owesPt X
$556K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$455K
Total assetsLn 16$582K
LiabilitiesLn 26$25K
PeoplePt VI, VII
1
listed · VII A
PaidVII A0
Voting boardVI 1a10
IndependentVI 1b10
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$2.1M
Government grantsLn 1e$1.9M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$267K
Total revenueLn 12$2.3M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$455K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$455K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$3K
Total assetsLn 16$582K
LiabilitiesLn 26$25K
Net assetsLn 32$556K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 530
VolunteersI 6200
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aNo
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$370K$455K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$3K$3K
Total assetsLn 16$608K$582K
LiabilitiesLn 26$87K$25K
Net assetsLn 32$521K$556K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$1.5M$1.4M$41K
Payroll taxesLn 10$157K$157K
Legal feesLn 11b$181K$128K$53K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$215K$215K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$8K$8K
Office expensesLn 13$6K$6K
TravelLn 17$2K$2K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$213$213
InsuranceLn 23$13K$9K$4K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$28K$26K$2K
All other expensesLn 24e$33K$21K$12K
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.1M$1.9M$145K$10K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2023 Latest Viewing $2.3M$2.1M$242K$556K 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.5M$1.0M$453K$521K 990 PDF
FY2021 $668K$573K$95K$63K 990 PDF
FY2020 $603K$670K−$67K−$26K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,342,957 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grants$2,076,392
I-9 Program service revenue$266,565
I-10 Investment income$0
I-11 Other revenue$0
I-12 Total revenue$2,342,957
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefits$1,613,314
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expenses$487,224
I-18 Total expenses$2,100,538
I-19 Revenue less expenses$242,419
Part VI · Governance 10 of 10 board members independent, 4 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body10
VI-1b Independent voting members10
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyNo
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,342,957 across 5 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$1,889,732
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$186,660
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$2,076,392
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $266,565$266,565
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $266,565 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$2,342,957
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,100,538 across 11 lines filed
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $1,415,008 · Management $40,842$1,455,850
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $157,464$157,464
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $127,913 · Management $53,300$181,213
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $215,112$215,112
IX-12 Advertising and promotionFundraising $8,277$8,277
IX-13 Office expensesManagement $5,579$5,579
IX-17 TravelManagement $2,175$2,175
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $213$213
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $9,133 · Management $4,364$13,497
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Management $26,303 · Fundraising $2,018$28,321
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $20,809 · Management $12,028$32,837
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $1,945,652 · Management $144,591 · Fundraising $10,295$2,100,538
Part X · Balance sheet $581,642 assets, 9 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $370,372$454,879
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $234,660$123,525
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $3,451$3,238
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $608,483$581,642
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $2,500$25,352
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $86,996$25,352
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $521,487$556,290
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $521,487$556,290
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $608,483$581,642
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $556,290 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$2,342,957
XI-2 Total expenses$2,100,538
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$242,419
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$521,487
XI-8 Prior period adjustments−$207,616
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$556,290

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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