Student Action with Farmworkers (saf) mission is to bring students and Farmworkers together to learn about each other's lives, share resources and skills, improve conditions for Farmworkers, and build diverse coalitions working for social change.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
73¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$62K 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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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
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $16K a year · 2% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
73%
of spending
Fine: 73% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$62K
to officers and key staff · 8% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 8% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
12 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 12.3 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $31K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$60K
5% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 5% 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
$737K
-34% vs prior year
Spent
$788K
To programs
73%
Net assets
$1.1M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$737K
FY2023▼ -34%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$820K
FY2021$916K
FY2022$1.1M
FY2023$737K
FY2024$586K
FY2025$743K
Expenses
$788K
FY2023▼ -4%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$757K
FY2021$848K
FY2022$820K
FY2023$788K
FY2024$879K
FY2025$918K
Net assets
$1.1M
FY2023▼ -4%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$770K
FY2021$899K
FY2022$1.2M
FY2023$1.1M
FY2024$1.1M
FY2025$898K

From the FY2023 Form 990 (year ending August 2023) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 1992.

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

Where the money goes

73 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 73% · $571K Management & general 21% · $163K Fundraising 7% · $54K

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

11 people listed on the 990; $62K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2022); the FY2023 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$62,282Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Sylvia Zapata’s $66K as Executive Director is at the 58th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1613 $100K–1M 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Melinda Wiggins———$68,950$68,050$67,050
Sylvia Zapata$66,262—————
Sylvia Shoemaker—$62,282————
Sylvia Zapata Shoemaker——$62,282———

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

Connects students and farmworkers to share lives, skills, and build coalitions for social change.

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3 programs · $571K · in their own filed words · FY2022
01

Into the Fields Internship

Twenty-four Into the Fields students conducted outreach to nearly 3,158 farmworkers and their families in labor camps and communities. Students worked on site and lived in the communities they were serving. The students worked with legal, health, education, and organizing partners.

$323Kprogram expense
02

Education & Advocacy

From the Ground Up: SAF staff and interns conducted virtual and in-person presentations on issues ranging from child labor to food security. We had 43 partners for Farmworker Awareness Week, and continued to build on the powerful influence of unions and student activism. We co-coordinated community events, both in person and virtually.

$196Kprogram expense
03

Levante Leadership Institute

Ten high school students from farmworker families in Eastern North Carolina participated in the Levante Leadership Institute Program. They received training, mentorship and tutoring. The program participants focused on learning about heat stress, higher education, and the farmworker justice movement.

$53Kprogram 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
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$31K
Grants paid · 10 grants · $634K · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$160,925
Unitemized GrantFY2024$15,490
Unitemized GrantFY2023$165,584
Unitemized GrantFY2023$17,200
Unitemized GrantFY2022$15,000
Unitemized GrantFY2021$15,000
Unitemized GrantFY2020$75,484
Unitemized GrantFY2020$64,520
Unitemized GrantFY2019$58,970
Unitemized GrantFY2019$45,700

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$737K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$680K
Investment incomeLn 3$24K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$17K
Money outPt IX
$788K
Ln 25
Programscol B$571K
Managementcol C$163K
Fundraisingcol D$54K
Owns and owesPt X
$1.1M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$810K
Total assetsLn 16$1.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$60K
PeoplePt VI, VII
11
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a10
IndependentVI 1b10
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$680K
Government grantsLn 1e$114K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$8K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$0
Fees for servicesLn 2g$17K
Investment incomeLn 3$24K
Other incomeLn 4–11$16K
Total revenueLn 12$737K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$3K
SavingsLn 2$807K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$810K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1K
Other assetsLn 15$305K
Total assetsLn 16$1.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$60K
Net assetsLn 32$1.1M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 58
VolunteersI 611
Fiscal year endsHeaderAugust
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 FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$553K$810K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2K$1K
Total assetsLn 16$1.2M$1.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$43K$60K
Net assetsLn 32$1.2M$1.1M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$786$786
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$15K$15K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$68K$24K$40K$4K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$299K$217K$47K$35K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$38K$25K$8K$4K
Payroll taxesLn 10$28K$19K$7K$3K
Management feesLn 11a$41K$35K$4K$1K
Accounting feesLn 11c$31K$0$31K$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$27K$14K$12K$1K
Office expensesLn 13$9K$6K$853$2K
Information technologyLn 14$875$481$315$79
OccupancyLn 16$22K$14K$5K$2K
TravelLn 17$21K$20K$848$72
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$14K$14K$0$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$993$694$185$114
InsuranceLn 23$9K$3K$6K$432
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$163K$163K$416$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$788K$571K$163K$54K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $743K$918K−$175K$898K 990 PDF
FY2024 $586K$879K−$293K$1.1M 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $737K$788K−$50K$1.1M 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.1M$820K$294K$1.2M 990 PDF
FY2021 $916K$848K$68K$899K 990 PDF
FY2020 $820K$757K$63K$770K 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 $737,452 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $1,104,870$680,206
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $7,280$17,000
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $705$24,474
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $970$15,772
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $1,113,825$737,452
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $15,000$15,786
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $456,744$432,690
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $348,466$339,286
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $820,210$787,762
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $293,615−$50,310
Part VI · Governance 10 of 10 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body10
VI-1b Independent voting members10
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 $737,452 across 10 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $700 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1c Fundraising events$0
VIII-1e Government grants$114,004
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$566,202
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$8,092
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$680,206
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$17,000
VIII-3 Investment incomeUnrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $24,474$24,474
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsUnrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $13,839$13,839
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $35 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $1,198$1,233
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $17,035 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $40,211$737,452
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $787,762 across 17 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $786$786
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $15,000$15,000
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $24,105 · Management $40,203 · Fundraising $3,902$68,210
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $216,869 · Management $47,078 · Fundraising $34,740$298,687
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $24,989 · Management $8,438 · Fundraising $4,117$37,544
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $18,641 · Management $6,615 · Fundraising $2,993$28,249
IX-11a Management feesPrograms $35,463 · Management $4,280 · Fundraising $1,299$41,042
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $0 · Management $30,719 · Fundraising $0$30,719
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $13,840 · Management $11,548 · Fundraising $1,465$26,853
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $6,347 · Management $853 · Fundraising $2,215$9,415
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $481 · Management $315 · Fundraising $79$875
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $14,410 · Management $5,226 · Fundraising $2,364$22,000
IX-17 TravelPrograms $20,000 · Management $848 · Fundraising $72$20,920
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $14,259 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$14,259
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $694 · Management $185 · Fundraising $114$993
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $2,637 · Management $6,071 · Fundraising $432$9,140
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $162,654 · Management $416 · Fundraising $0$163,070
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $571,175 · Management $162,795 · Fundraising $53,792$787,762
Part X · Balance sheet $1,178,973 assets, 14 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $347$3,022
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $552,362$806,686
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $236,000$0
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $122,855$54,975
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $1,958$8,060
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $2,185$1,192
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $286,683$305,038
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $1,202,390$1,178,973
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $42,812$60,221
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $42,812$60,221
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $944,578$1,097,752
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $215,000$21,000
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $1,159,578$1,118,752
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $1,202,390$1,178,973
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,118,752 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$737,452
XI-2 Total expenses$787,762
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$50,310
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$1,159,578
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$9,484
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$1,118,752

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

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