Is it real?
Yes. Revoked May 2020, reinstated. IRS ruling Mar 2021, per the IRS master file. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Mar 2021.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
100 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25. 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; $176K paid to officers and key staff.
Sara Otis’s $56K as Director and Board President is at the 47th 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sara Otis | $55,720 | $35,183 | $37,300 | $40,000 |
| Stephen Otis | $4,543 | $16,254 | $39,865 | $27,000 |
| Luke Marx | $39,618 | $19,504 | — | — |
| Katie Barr | $35,710 | $13,841 | $9,550 | — |
| Summer Fuss | $29,528 | $24,199 | $25,993 | $7,650 |
| Beth Aisenbrey | $23,215 | $13,913 | $9,920 | $5,583 |
| Natalie Connors | $19,350 | $20,712 | $10,912 | — |
| Gar Secrist | — | — | — | $18,788 |
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 young people to nature through play, building confidence and community care.
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Our Primary goal in our 7th year continues to be that we make sure we have excellent staff who are paid fairly and trained properly. We have a total of 10 staff members serving a community of 118 kids at our school.
Our second goal was to make sure our school grounds and facilities were well maintained. This includes paying rent and utilities up keeping three outdoor classrooms one indoor school house classroom and maintaining care for our large garden for herbalist training and experience.
Our third goal was to makes sure our educational program is top notch and offers the best to our kids in the school. This required excellent materials for the children with books and crafts and experiences. It also includes various days we offer feasts and snacks to kids and families.
By the numbers
The FY2023 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY23 | End FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $4K | $20K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $0 | $0 |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $0 | $0 |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $4K | $20K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $0 | $0 |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $4K | $20K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $176K | $176K | $0 | $0 |
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $15K | $15K | $0 | $0 |
| Management feesLn 11a | $5K | $5K | $0 | $0 |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $148 | $148 | $0 | $0 |
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $0 | $0 | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $288 | $288 | $0 | $0 |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $2K | $2K | $0 | $0 |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $1K | $1K | $0 | $0 |
| RoyaltiesLn 15 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $8K | $8K | $0 | $0 |
| TravelLn 17 | $2K | $2K | $0 | $0 |
| Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $2K | $2K | $0 | $0 |
| InterestLn 20 | $561 | $561 | $0 | $0 |
| Payments to affiliatesLn 21 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $2K | $2K | $0 | $0 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $19K | $19K | $0 | $0 |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $232K | $232K | $0 | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest | $285K | $299K | −$14K | $5K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 Viewing | $248K | $232K | $16K | $20K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $192K | $4K | 990 PDF | ||
| FY2021 | $171K | $2K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $248,326 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 3 of 5 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $248,326 across 16 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $232,211 across 31 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $19,619 assets, 24 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $19,619 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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