The Grow America Project

The information for The Grow America Project is as of the organization's most recent filing in December '21. This organization is located in Gladstone, MO. It has been in existence for 14 years, following its founding in 2007.

Organization Classification

The IRS classifies organizations according to the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) system. The NTEE system helps the IRS assign a 3-character code to each organization to describe the organization's activities.

The Grow America Project's NTEE code is Z99. The "Z" indicates that the organization's classification is currently unknown. The code "99" suggests that it is a temporary code until more information is available for classification. The mission of The Grow America Project is to build consumer trust and confidence in today's food system. They aim to achieve this by sharing accurate, balanced information, correcting misinformation, modeling best practices, and engaging stakeholders to address consumer concerns. The organization falls under the C Section Code 4, which includes Civic Leagues, Social Welfare Organizations, and Local Associations of Employees.

Program Areas

Program Area 1: The Align the Culture of Today's Food System with Consumer Expectations program focuses on improving the practices and processes of food system stakeholders to better align them with the expectations of consumers. Within this program, the organization works to report all revenues, support, and functional expenses that are not specifically reported by another fund or program.

Program Area 2: The organization's second program area focuses on convening, empowering, and supporting food and agriculture stakeholders to operate in a manner that builds consumer trust. This program area aims to narrow the gap between food system performance and consumer expectations by utilizing CFI models, tools, and information on how to earn consumer trust. CFI serves as a key resource for food system stakeholders, who collaborate on strategies to create better alignment with consumer expectations, ultimately leading to increased consumer trust.

Program Area 3: The organization's program area focuses on being a leading voice in a balanced public conversation about food. This program recognizes that CFI is seen as a leading resource for balanced and credible information about the food system by the media, online influencers, and consumers. Additionally, food system stakeholders view CFI as a key resource to help inform consumer outreach strategies and align practices with consumer expectations.

Organization Staffing

The Grow America Project is led by Terry Fleck, who holds the position of Executive Director. The organization does not have any paid employees, as indicated by the 0 employee count. Additionally, there are no employees who are paid over $100k per year. However, the organization does have a small workforce of 16 volunteers who support its operations.

Board Governance

The Grow America Project appears to be well-governed based on the provided information. The organization has 16 voting members, all of whom are independent, indicating a diverse and unbiased board. This ensures that decisions are made in the best interest of the organization and its mission, rather than personal gain or conflicts of interest. The fact that potential conflicts of interest do not exist further demonstrates the organization's commitment to transparency and ethical practices. This is reinforced by the presence of a conflict of interest policy, which requires disclosure of any conflicts and helps prevent any undue influence or bias in decision-making. The organization also exhibits strong governance practices by documenting both board and committee meetings. This ensures that important discussions and decisions are properly recorded and can be referred to in the future. Additionally, the presence of a written whistleblower policy and a document retention policy further highlights the organization's commitment to accountability and responsible stewardship of resources. Although the organization does not substantiate and review leadership and officer salaries, the fact that they provide copies of the 990 form to the board prior to filing indicates a level of transparency regarding financial matters. Overall, The Grow America Project demonstrates good governance practices, with clear policies and procedures in place to ensure transparency, accountability, and ethical decision-making.

Organization Growth

The Grow America Project, a nonprofit organization, has experienced a decrease in various aspects over the given time period. The contributions and grants received decreased from $2.7 million in 2014 to $601.2 thousand in 2021. Similarly, program service revenue decreased from $2.6 million in 2014 to $1.4 million in 2021. The total revenue also decreased from $5.2 million in 2014 to $2.3 million in 2021. Additionally, total expenses decreased from $4.7 million in 2014 to $1.9 million in 2021. However, it is worth noting that the number of volunteers increased from 0 in 2016 to 16 in 2021, although this data may not be meaningful for analyzing the organization's growth. Overall, based on the financial data provided, The Grow America Project has experienced a decline in revenue and expenses over the given time period.