Backyard Growers INC EIN 47-1553021 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Backyard Growers INC FY2023 filing

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Teaches people to grow food, building healthy, connected, and sustainable communities. For fiscal year 2023 it reported $198K in revenue, $549K in expenses, and $243K in net assets.Pt I

Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Food & Agriculture
Location
Gloucester, MA
Website
backyardgrowers.org
Filings
5 on file (2020–2023)
Revenue
$198KFY2023
Expenses
$549K
Net assets
$243K
People
25
Filings
5
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  47-1553021 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Gloucester, MA
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Teaches people to grow food, building healthy, connected, and sustainable communities.
Leadership
Alison Woitunski Difiore · Executive Di · $59K
Money in and out
$198K revenue, $549K expenses
Bottom line
4.8mo operating runway
Where the money goes · FY2023
Total revenue
$198K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$549K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$243K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$351K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.70 Management & general $0.13 Fundraising $0.18
Operating runway
4.8mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
-177%
revenue over expenses, this year
Donor-funded
84%
of revenue is gifts & grants

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2023 · Form 990-EZ
Revenue
$198K
FY2023▼ -59%
Expenses
$549K
FY2023▲ +29%
Total assets
$411K
FY2023▼ -7%
Total liabilities
$17K
FY2023▲ ×11
Total revenue
$198K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$549K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$243K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$351K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$411K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B70%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 311
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 411

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CBackyard Growers INC
EINHdr · item D47-1553021
Principal addressHdr · item CGloucester, MA
WebsiteHdr · item Jbackyardgrowers.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MMA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFFood & Agriculture (K30)
Ruling yearIRS BMFJun 2015

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a11
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b11
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 · most recent filed roster (FY2022); the FY2023 filing did not itemize Part VII
$58,851Pt VII · Sec A
Former Ed (a
$49,034Pt VII · Sec A
Executive Director
$43,759Pt VII · Sec A
$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

Alison Woitunski Difiore’s $91K as Executive Director is at the 88th 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2021FY2020
Alison Woitunski Difiore$90,731$87,746$43,759
Lara Lepionka$49,034$84,880$73,000

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

1 program service account for $382K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2022.
01

In the face of COVID-19 we found innovative new ways to empower people with resources and agency to grow their own food. We launched an online shop to safely and urgently distribute thousands of growing resources for the community.

$382Kprogram expense

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$471K · 238%
Program service revenue$24K · 12%
Contributions & grants238%$471K
Program service revenue12%$24K
Investment income$509
— government grantsLn 1e$49K
Total revenueLn 12$198K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.70 Management & general $0.13 Fundraising $0.18
Program services70%$382K
Management & general13%$70K
Fundraising18%$96K
Total functional expensesLn 25$549K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$286K
Total assetsLn 16$411K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$17K
Total net assetsLn 32$243K
Months of cash on handcomputed6.2

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2023 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $218K · Operating expenses/yr $549K
4.8 months
Where the money goes
Program services
not reported
Management & General
not reported
Fundraising
not reported
Cost to raise $1
not reported
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $167K · Total revenue $198K
84%
Government reliance
not reported
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $26K · Total revenue $198K
13%
Investment reliance
Investment income $104 · Total revenue $198K
+0.05%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $26K · Total expenses $549K
5%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $198K · Prior year $487K
-59%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $243K · Beginning of year $369K
-34%
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $198K · Expenses $549K
-177%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities $17K · Total assets $411K
4%
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $243K · Total assets $411K
59%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Alison Woitunski Difiore · Reported title EXECUTIVE DI · Highest reported compensation $59K · Total expenses $549K
11%
Personnel share
Salaries & benefits $220K · Total expenses $549K
40%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 70%
Overhead ratio 13%
Fundraising cost ratio 20%
Revenue growth -59%
Accounting fee ratio 4%

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

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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
FY2025 (Latest)$671K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$557K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$198K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022not on file
FY2021$487K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$444K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2023IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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