Mill City Grows INC FY2022 filing

Tax-deductible

Lowell, MA501(c)(3)Food & AgricultureEIN 47-2096070Revenue $1.5M in FY2022

On file with the IRSmillcitygrows.org650 Suffolk St Ste G10, 01854-3639 · Lowell, MATax-exempt since Jun 2015Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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Mill City Grows, INC. Fosters food justice by improving physical health, economic independence and environmental sustainability in lowell through increased access to land, locally-grown food and education.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
78¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$85K 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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FY2022 · 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 $116K 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
78%
of spending
Looks good: 78% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$85K
to officers and key staff · 5% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 5% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
5 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 4.6 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
4
named funders · $66K
Looks good: 4 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$155K
11% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 11% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
13
of 13 voting members
Looks good: 13 of 13 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$1.5M
-0.6% vs prior year
Spent
$1.6M
To programs
78%
Net assets
$1.3M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$1.5M
FY2022▼ -0.6%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$1.2M
FY2021$1.5M
FY2022$1.5M
FY2023$1.8M
FY2024$2.1M
Expenses
$1.6M
FY2022▲ +16%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$1.2M
FY2021$1.4M
FY2022$1.6M
FY2023$1.6M
FY2024$1.7M
Net assets
$1.3M
FY2022▼ -8%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$1.3M
FY2021$1.4M
FY2022$1.3M
FY2023$1.5M
FY2024$1.8M

From the FY2022 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2022 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 Jun 2015.

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

Where the money goes

78 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 78% · $1.3M Management & general 10% · $171K Fundraising 12% · $195K

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

15 people listed on the 990; $85K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Di
$85,303Pt VII · Sec A
Vice Preside
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt 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
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Courtney McSparron’s $81K as Coexecutive is at the 31st percentile of top reported officer pay among 818 $1–10M 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

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Jessica Wilson—$88,553$85,303$82,512$84,807
Courtney McSparron$80,923————
Dai Kim$78,904————
Ali Jacobs$63,208————

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 Mill City Grows INC executive salaries →

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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

Improves health and sustainability by increasing access to land, local food, and education.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $1.3M · in their own filed words · FY2022
01

Urban Farm

Our educational production farms engage residents in experiential education programs, hands-on food production and volunteerism. MCG staff operate the farms. In 2022, we also began offering plots to market gardeners who are interested in growing cultural crops for the community or establishing small food businesses.

$481Kprogram expense
02

Food Education

Our education programs include: in-school, after school and out of school gardening and nutrition education programs for children, grades k-12; maintenance of school gardens at lowell public schools; provision of professional development in gardening education to educators; farm to table cooking classes for youth and families offered in…

$455Kprogram expense
03

Community Programs

Mill city grows' community programs include our community gardens and community education. Our team oversees the gardens, providing technical assistance, general oversight of the garden and support for volunteer garden ambassadors, who build strong community networks in the gardens.

$335Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
See all 4 funders →
Grants paid · 2 grants · $18K · 2024–2024

By the numbers

The FY2022 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.5M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.3M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$176K
Other incomeLn 4–11$70K
Money outPt IX
$1.6M
Ln 25
Programscol B$1.3M
Managementcol C$171K
Fundraisingcol D$195K
Owns and owesPt X
$1.3M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$621K
Total assetsLn 16$1.5M
LiabilitiesLn 26$155K
PeoplePt VI, VII
15
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a13
IndependentVI 1b13
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.3M
Government grantsLn 1e$448K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$18K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$104K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$176K
Investment incomeLn 3$485
Other incomeLn 4–11$70K
Total revenueLn 12$1.5M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$465K
SavingsLn 2$157K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$621K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$536K
Other assetsLn 15$99K
Total assetsLn 16$1.5M
LiabilitiesLn 26$155K
Net assetsLn 32$1.3M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 522
VolunteersI 6353
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 FY22End FY22
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$912K$621K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$491K$536K
Total assetsLn 16$1.6M$1.5M
LiabilitiesLn 26$183K$155K
Net assetsLn 32$1.4M$1.3M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$99K$49K$50K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$958K$849K$18K$91K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$78K$69K$9K
Payroll taxesLn 10$98K$79K$5K$13K
Accounting feesLn 11c$41K$41K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$20K$10K$2K$9K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$13K$920$335$12K
Office expensesLn 13$36K$11K$22K$2K
OccupancyLn 16$57K$41K$11K$6K
TravelLn 17$487$469$10$8
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$61K$53K$5K$3K
InsuranceLn 23$25K$15K$11K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$150K$144K$5K$677
All other expensesLn 24e$700$25$350$325
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.6M$1.3M$171K$195K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest $2.1M$1.7M$367K$1.8M 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.8M$1.6M$146K$1.5M 990 PDF
FY2022 Viewing $1.5M$1.6M−$108K$1.3M 990 PDF
FY2021 $1.5M$1.4M$125K$1.4M 990 PDF
FY2020 $1.2M$1.2M$49K$1.3M 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 FY2022 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,529,343 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $1,281,060$1,282,835
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $200,008$176,252
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $547$485
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $56,350$69,771
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $1,537,965$1,529,343
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $991,877$1,233,064
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $420,675$404,387
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $1,412,552$1,637,451
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $125,413−$108,108
Part VI · Governance 13 of 13 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body13
VI-1b Independent voting members13
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,529,343 across 10 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $68,225 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1c Fundraising events$104,098
VIII-1e Government grants$447,817
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$730,920
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$17,663
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,282,835
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $176,252$176,252
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $485$485
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax $769$769
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $777$777
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $245,254 · Excluded from tax $1,254$1,529,343
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,637,451 across 14 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffManagement $49,161 · Fundraising $49,889$99,050
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $849,006 · Management $18,160 · Fundraising $90,916$958,082
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $68,814 · Fundraising $9,273$78,087
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $79,343 · Management $5,475 · Fundraising $13,027$97,845
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $40,967$40,967
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $9,599 · Management $1,966 · Fundraising $8,598$20,163
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $920 · Management $335 · Fundraising $11,529$12,784
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $11,099 · Management $22,410 · Fundraising $2,128$35,637
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $40,581 · Management $11,039 · Fundraising $5,627$57,247
IX-17 TravelPrograms $469 · Management $10 · Fundraising $8$487
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $53,267 · Management $4,863 · Fundraising $3,223$61,353
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $14,523 · Management $10,702$25,225
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $143,738 · Management $5,409 · Fundraising $677$149,824
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $25 · Management $350 · Fundraising $325$700
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $1,271,384 · Management $170,847 · Fundraising $195,220$1,637,451
Part X · Balance sheet $1,471,302 assets, 15 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $708,268$464,771
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $203,618$156,522
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $27,500$121,856
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $26,750$78,130
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $23,969$14,614
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $490,712$536,204
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $126,055$99,205
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $1,606,872$1,471,302
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $49,057$48,016
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $133,606$107,185
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $182,663$155,201
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $1,212,999$1,028,936
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $211,210$287,165
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $1,424,209$1,316,101
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $1,606,872$1,471,302
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,316,101 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,529,343
XI-2 Total expenses$1,637,451
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$108,108
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$1,424,209
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$1,316,101

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2022 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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