Totals
- Total revenue
- $614,371
- Total expenses
- $539,905
- Contributions and grants received
- $482,096
- Grants paid
- $0
- Program service revenue
- $130,786
- Investment income
- $1,489
- Other revenue
- $0
- Total assets, end of year
- $377,094
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $21,638
- Net assets or fund balances, end of year
- $355,456
- Program services expenses (Part IX)
- $446,816
- Management and general expenses
- $83,501
- Fundraising expenses
- $9,588
- Program service expenses (Part III)
- $446,816
Program services were 82.8% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.
Line items
Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.
Revenue
Part VIII, the statement of revenue.
-
1a · Federated campaigns
$0
-
1b · Membership dues
$0
-
1c · Fundraising events
$0
-
1d · Related organizations
$0
-
1e · Government grants (contributions)
$474,512
-
1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants
$7,584
-
1g · Noncash contributions included above
$0
-
2a · Program service revenue: Paywalled resource access
total $64,725 · related or exempt $64,725 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
2b · Program service revenue: Contracts for resource and curriculum development
total $63,361 · related or exempt $63,361 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
2c · Program service revenue: Legal Services
total $2,700 · related or exempt $2,700 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
2f · All other program service revenue
total $0 · related or exempt $0 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
3 · Investment income
total $1,489 · related or exempt $1,489 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
4 · Income from investment of tax-exempt bond proceeds
total $0 · related or exempt $0 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
5 · Royalties
total $0 · related or exempt $0 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
6a · Gross rents
real property $0 · personal property $0
-
6b · Less rental expenses
real property $0 · personal property $0
-
6c · Rental income or loss
real property $0 · personal property $0
-
6d · Net rental income or loss
total $0 · related or exempt $0 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
7a · Gross sales of assets other than inventory
securities $0 · other assets $0
-
7b · Less cost or other basis and sales expenses
securities $0 · other assets $0
-
7c · Gain or loss
securities $0 · other assets $0
-
7d · Net gain or loss
total $0 · related or exempt $0 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
8a · Fundraising events: gross income
$0
-
8a · Fundraising events: contributions included on line 1c
$0
-
8b · Fundraising events: direct expenses
$0
-
8c · Net income from fundraising events
total $0 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
9a · Gaming: gross income
$0
-
9b · Gaming: direct expenses
$0
-
9c · Net income from gaming
total $0 · related or exempt $0 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
10a · Gross sales of inventory
$0
-
10b · Cost of goods sold
$0
-
10c · Net income from sales of inventory
total $0 · related or exempt $0 · unrelated business $0 · excluded $0
-
11e · Other revenue, total
$0
Functional expenses
Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.
-
1 · Grants to domestic organizations and governments
total $0 · program services $0
-
2 · Grants to domestic individuals
total $0 · program services $0
-
3 · Grants to foreign organizations and individuals
total $0 · program services $0
-
4 · Benefits paid to or for members
total $0 · program services $0
-
5 · Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
total $0 · program services $0 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
6 · Compensation of disqualified persons
total $0 · program services $0 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
7 · Other salaries and wages
total $295,985 · program services $269,485 · management and general $22,851 · fundraising $3,649
-
8 · Pension plan contributions
total $6,326 · program services $5,732 · management and general $499 · fundraising $95
-
9 · Other employee benefits
total $16,111 · program services $13,992 · management and general $2,115 · fundraising $4
-
10 · Payroll taxes
total $23,601 · program services $21,504 · management and general $1,813 · fundraising $284
-
11a · Fees: management
total $0 · program services $0 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
11b · Fees: legal
total $0 · program services $0 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
11c · Fees: accounting
total $24,794 · program services $0 · management and general $24,794 · fundraising $0
-
11d · Fees: lobbying
total $0 · program services $0 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
11e · Fees: professional fundraising services
total $0 · fundraising $0
-
11f · Fees: investment management
total $0 · program services $0 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
11g · Fees: other
total $0 · program services $0 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
12 · Advertising and promotion
total $841 · program services $750 · management and general $35 · fundraising $56
-
13 · Office expenses
total $1,078 · program services $321 · management and general $757 · fundraising $0
-
14 · Information technology
total $17,348 · program services $8,582 · management and general $7,182 · fundraising $1,584
-
15 · Royalties
total $0 · program services $0 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
16 · Occupancy
total $4,080 · program services $0 · management and general $4,080 · fundraising $0
-
17 · Travel
total $10,639 · program services $6,005 · management and general $718 · fundraising $3,916
-
18 · Travel or entertainment for public officials
total $0 · program services $0 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
19 · Conferences, conventions and meetings
total $0 · program services $0 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
20 · Interest
total $0 · program services $0 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
21 · Payments to affiliates
total $0 · program services $0 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
22 · Depreciation, depletion and amortization
total $17,267 · program services $0 · management and general $17,267 · fundraising $0
-
23 · Insurance
total $571 · program services $0 · management and general $571 · fundraising $0
-
24a · Other expenses: Direct Program Expenses: Farmer and Prof Honorariums
total $33,327 · program services $33,327 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
24b · Other expenses: Staff training, development, bad debt
total $10,619 · program services $10,181 · management and general $438 · fundraising $0
-
24c · Other expenses: Direct Program Expenses: Other
total $74,821 · program services $74,821 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
-
24d · Other expenses: Bank, Card Processing, and Business Fees
total $2,497 · program services $2,116 · management and general $381 · fundraising $0
-
24e · All other expenses
total $0 · program services $0 · management and general $0 · fundraising $0
Balance sheet
Part X, book values.
-
1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing
beginning of year $159,288 · end of year $42,916
-
2 · Savings and temporary cash investments
beginning of year $0 · end of year $101,489
-
3 · Pledges and grants receivable
beginning of year $0 · end of year $190,554
-
4 · Accounts receivable
beginning of year $83,595 · end of year $0
-
5 · Loans and receivables from officers and key people
beginning of year $0 · end of year $0
-
6 · Loans and receivables from disqualified persons
beginning of year $0 · end of year $0
-
7 · Other notes and loans receivable
beginning of year $0 · end of year $0
-
8 · Inventories for sale or use
beginning of year $0 · end of year $0
-
9 · Prepaid expenses and deferred charges
beginning of year $461 · end of year $9,285
-
10a · Land, buildings and equipment: cost or other basis
$32,850
-
10b · Land, buildings and equipment: accumulated depreciation
$0
-
10c · Land, buildings and equipment, net
beginning of year -$42,883 · end of year $32,850
-
11 · Investments: publicly traded securities
beginning of year $0
-
12 · Investments: other securities
beginning of year $0
-
13 · Investments: program-related
beginning of year $0
-
14 · Intangible assets
beginning of year $0
-
15 · Other assets
beginning of year $83,000
-
17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses
beginning of year $0 · end of year $8,154
-
18 · Grants payable
beginning of year $0 · end of year $0
-
19 · Deferred revenue
beginning of year $0 · end of year $11,775
-
20 · Tax-exempt bond liabilities
beginning of year $0 · end of year $0
-
21 · Escrow or custodial account liability
beginning of year $0 · end of year $0
-
22 · Loans and payables to officers and key people
beginning of year $0 · end of year $0
-
23 · Secured mortgages and notes payable
beginning of year $0 · end of year $0
-
24 · Unsecured notes and loans payable
beginning of year $0 · end of year $0
-
25 · Other liabilities
beginning of year $2,472 · end of year $1,709
-
29 · Capital stock, trust principal or current funds
beginning of year $284,631 · end of year $280,990
-
30 · Paid-in or capital surplus, or land, building or equipment fund
beginning of year $0 · end of year $0
-
31 · Retained earnings, endowment or other funds
beginning of year -$3,642 · end of year $74,466
Mission and programs · 2024
Mission
Farm Commons' mission is to provide the legal resources that sustainable farmers need to become the stable, resilient foundation of a community-based food system. Farm Commons empowers agricultural communities (including farmers, ranchers, and agriculture support persons) to identify and resolve legal vulnerabilities within an ecosystem of support. An ecosystem of support includes accountants, attorneys, and insurance agents who assist agricultural business owners in resolving risk. To carry out our mission, we create educational resources including online workshops. We also develop the leadership of agricultural community members (farmers and their supporters) to support legal resiliency in their region.
Activities or mission (Part I)
Farm Commons empowers agricultural communities to resolve their own legal vulnerabilities, within an ecosystem of support. We achieve our mission through development of high-quality, accessible legal education resources that help producers identify issues, make crucial decisions, and take action to achieve legal resilience. We also know that farmers themselves are the best source for creative solutions to their own challenges. We develop community leaders who guide peers and foster conversations about legal resilience. In-depth research into nuanced legal issues and delivering legal services also play a role in creating accurate, plain language resources that empower small business owners to develop their resilience. Our work reaches audiences that have historically lacked access to business legal services whether by gender, race, geography and/or ability to pay.
-
Farmer Education: In 2024 we hosted 77 farmers through our Discovering Resilience workshops, which saw 90% of attendees adopt at least one of the 10 best practices of legal resilience within 3 months of the workshop. In addition, 80% of attendees are still working towards implementing 4 or more best practices 3 months after the workshop. We wrote and distributed 2 additional guides on farmland succession legal issues and on cooperative purchasing and financing of farmland. We developed and released 6 new podcast episodes and hosted 24 webinars for partner organizations. We brought 12 Fellows through our advanced training and communications programs. In addition, we addressed dozens of individual questions via email on farm business law issues.
Expenses $353,571 · Revenue $438,318
-
Non-Farmer Education: In 2024, Farm Commons enhanced its service to Extension Educators, nonprofit employees, and farm support persons nationwide to help farmers recognize and address legal vulnerabilities before a problem occurs. We supported 176 organizations nationwide with customized access to our resources and individualized webinars to their agricultural communities. We delivered our comprehensive online workshop, Guiding Resilience, to 32 professionals nationwide. This 5-week comprehensive workshop prepares professionals to guide farmers in their own communities. Our data show that for every one non-farming agriculture professional we reach, that person provides our information to 22 more farmers in their local community, significantly magnifying our ability to achieve our mission. We hosted another session of our Legal Ecosystem Fellowship program that trains partners to be able to lead farm law workshops in their own communities. 8 professionals went through the LEF program and successfully delivered farm law presentations in their communities. We also developed custom resources for 5 other organizations.
Expenses $88,591 · Revenue $159,780
-
Research: Farm Commons provides essential services in doing complex legal research and in studying the impact and ramifications of legal realities on diverse farm communities. As part of our effort to learn about how farm communities understand and react to legal realities, we occasionally providing legal services to community members, where this service will help inform our educational resource development and other research efforts.
Expenses $4,654 · Revenue $2,700
As filed on the 2024 return.
Listed in Part VII
-
Rachel Armstrong
Ex officio and Non-Voting Director
- Total calculated
- $70,625
- From this org
- $70,625
- From related orgs
- $0
- Other
- $0
- Hours/week
- 40
-
Aaron Sandvig
Treasurer
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 1
-
Andrew Larson
President
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 1
-
Tom Buller
Secretary
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 1
-
Joy Kirkpatrick
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 1
-
Kate Graham
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 1
Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those.
Grants on this return
No itemized grants to organizations on this return.
Provenance
- Return type
- form_990
- Tax year
- 2024
- Filed
- 30 September 2025
- IRS schema version
- 2024v5.0
- Source object
- 202532819349300328
Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.
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