Eco Center INC FY2020 filing

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The ecology Center is a community-based nonprofit dedicated to building a healthy, abundant, and regenerative food future for southern california. The organization operates a 28-acre working farm that serves as a living classroom for public education, hands-on learning, and demonstrations of sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship. Through community events, school and family programs, food access initiatives, farming education, and engagement opportunities for volunteers and visitors, the ecology Center connects people to healthy landscapes and equitable food systems while advancing resilient and regenerative community practices.

Form 990 Part I, line 1, FY2020. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 80-0308638) · Dispute this line
501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
79¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$177K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2020 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
The IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
The latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $299K a year · 6% of revenue · last 5 filings
A surplus in 3 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
79%
of spending
79% of spending went to programs.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$177K
to officers and key staff · 5% of spending
Pay to officers and key staff is 5% of spending.
Part VII, Section A
6.7 mo
of spending, in cash
6.7 months of spending in cash.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
14
named funders · $1.0M
14 funders name it on their filings.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$597K
21% of total assets
Liabilities are 21% of assets.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
8
of 8 voting members
8 of 8 voting members are independent.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Revenue
$4.2M
Spent
$3.4M
To programs
79%
Net assets
$2.3M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$4.2M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$4.2M
FY2021$4.5M
FY2022$4.3M
FY2023$4.8M
FY2024$6.5M
Expenses
$3.4M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$3.4M
FY2021$4.8M
FY2022$4.2M
FY2023$4.9M
FY2024$5.6M
Net assets
$2.3M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$2.3M
FY2021$2.0M
FY2022$2.1M
FY2023$2.0M
FY2024$2.9M

From the FY2020 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

You’re viewing the FY2020 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 Mar 2009.

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

Where the money goes

79 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 79% · $2.6M Management & general 12% · $408K Fundraising 9% · $309K

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

9 people listed on the 990; $177K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Direc
$176,779Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Chairman
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Evan Marks’s $236K as Exec Director is at the 90th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1851 $1–10M environment 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

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Evan Marks$235,698$223,742$169,754$171,144$176,779
Bret Babos———$106,087—

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 Eco Center INC executive salaries →

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

Builds a healthy food future through education, sustainable farming, and community programs.

Questions for Eco Center INC

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3 programs · $2.1M · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Farm Stand/Farm Share Our Farm Stand is open daily to meet all of your culinary and household needs. Visit for a culinary tour of our local foodshed with an offering of local organic fruits and vegetables, artisan bread and tortillas, bulk organic pantry and homecare products, organic seedlings and kids gardening tools.

Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2020. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 80-0308638) · Dispute this line
$799Kprogram expense
02

Capital Campaign

Development The Ecology Center's infrastructure build-out towards our forthcoming Eco-Village. This 5+ year program is designed to increase the educational and farming capacity of the property, creating more public engagement opportunities, improving infrastructure, and building necessary structures to accommodate our future farming…

Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2020. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 80-0308638) · Dispute this line
$799Kprogram expense
03

Community Engagement From our Seasonal Taste Festivals to weekend Farm Tours to our Membership Program, we are open to the public 7-days each week with a variety of educational, DIY, tours, speaker series, volunteerism, and deeper engagement opportunities.

Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2020. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 80-0308638) · Dispute this line
$521Kprogram 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 14 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$4.2M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$3.9M
Other incomeLn 4–11$330K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$49K
Money outPt IX
$3.4M
Ln 25
Programscol B$2.6M
Managementcol C$408K
Fundraisingcol D$309K
Owns and owesPt X
$2.3M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.9M
Total assetsLn 16$2.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$597K
PeoplePt VI, VII
9
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a8
IndependentVI 1b8
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$3.9M
Government grantsLn 1e$329K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$3K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$56K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$49K
Investment incomeLn 3$6K
Other incomeLn 4–11$330K
Gains on assetsLn 7$5K
Total revenueLn 12$4.2M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$558K
SavingsLn 2$1.3M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$1.9M
Accounts receivableLn 4$28K
Inventories for sale or useLn 8$78K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$607K
Intangible assetsLn 14$29K
Other assetsLn 15$287K
Total assetsLn 16$2.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$597K
Net assetsLn 32$2.3M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5123
VolunteersI 61,000
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 FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.1M$1.9M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$217K$607K
Total assetsLn 16$1.8M$2.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$391K$597K
Net assetsLn 32$1.4M$2.3M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5$177K$127K$30K$19K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$1.5M$1.1M$255K$165K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$94K$67K$16K$10K
Payroll taxesLn 10$154K$111K$26K$17K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$14K$14K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$1K$1K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$0
Advertising and promotionLn 12$37K$37K
Office expensesLn 13$139K$111K$14K$14K
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$0
TravelLn 17$30K$27K$1K$1K
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$52K$41K$6K$5K
InterestLn 20$4K$3K$361$361
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$84K$67K$8K$8K
InsuranceLn 23$192K$153K$19K$19K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$659K$644K$11K$4K
All other expensesLn 24e$222K$171K$7K$45K
Total functional expensesLn 25$3.4M$2.6M$408K$309K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Nov 17, 2025 $6.5M$5.6M$897K$2.9M 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2024 $4.8M$4.9M−$93K$2.0M 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2023 $4.3M$4.2M$70K$2.1M 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2022 $4.5M$4.8M−$270K$2.0M 990 PDF
FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 15, 2021 $4.2M$3.4M$892K$2.3M 990 PDF

Schedules filed Part IV

A · Public support I · Grants J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2020 990
Part I · Summary $4,248,288 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $2,350,995$3,862,753
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $381,536$49,275
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $9,266$6,066
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $155,964$330,194
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $2,897,761$4,248,288
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $1,388,236$1,924,590
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $909,978$1,431,942
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $2,298,214$3,356,532
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $599,547$891,756
Part VI · Governance 8 of 8 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body8
VI-1b Independent voting members8
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 $4,248,288 across 14 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $329,206 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1b Membership dues$53,705
VIII-1c Fundraising events$56,226
VIII-1e Government grants$329,034
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$3,423,788
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$2,677
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$3,862,753
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $49,275$49,275
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $1,310$1,310
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsRelated to mission $4,756$4,756
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $988$988
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $55,019 · Excluded from tax $330,516$4,248,288
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,356,532 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Programs $127,281 · Management $30,052 · Fundraising $19,446$176,779
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $1,079,936 · Management $254,985 · Fundraising $164,990$1,499,911
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $67,388 · Management $15,911 · Fundraising $10,295$93,594
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $111,100 · Management $26,232 · Fundraising $16,974$154,306
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $13,795$13,795
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $1,023$1,023
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $36,696$36,696
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $111,000 · Management $13,875 · Fundraising $13,875$138,750
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 Occupancy$0
IX-17 TravelPrograms $26,793 · Management $1,488 · Fundraising $1,489$29,770
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $41,220 · Management $5,668 · Fundraising $4,637$51,525
IX-20 InterestPrograms $2,890 · Management $361 · Fundraising $361$3,612
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $66,839 · Management $8,355 · Fundraising $8,355$83,549
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $153,334 · Management $19,167 · Fundraising $19,167$191,668
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $644,318 · Management $10,663 · Fundraising $4,101$659,082
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $170,554 · Management $6,779 · Fundraising $45,139$222,472
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $2,639,349 · Management $408,354 · Fundraising $308,829$3,356,532
Part X · Balance sheet $2,908,021 assets, 23 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $753,010$557,908
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $310,128$1,321,302
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$0
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $46,205$28,415
X-5 Loans to officers and key people$0
X-6 Loans to other insiders$0
X-7 Notes and loans receivable$0
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $25,348$77,526
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$0
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $217,259$607,267
X-11 Publicly traded securities$0
X-12 Other securities$0
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $38,927$28,884
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $419,517$286,719
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $1,810,394$2,908,021
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $194,628$271,501
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $196,538$325,536
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $391,166$597,037
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $684,428$925,280
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $734,800$1,385,704
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $1,419,228$2,310,984
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $1,810,394$2,908,021
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,310,984 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$4,248,288
XI-2 Total expenses$3,356,532
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$891,756
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$1,419,228
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$2,310,984

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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