Stone Barns Restoration Corp
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
STONE BARNS CENTER IS A NONPROFIT FARM, EDUCATION, AND RESEARCH CENTER WITH A MISSION TO CATALYZE AN ECOLOGICAL FOOD CULTURE. SINCE 2004, WE HAVE BEEN DRIVING INNOVATION IN SUSTAINABLE FARMING PRACTICES AND MINDFUL FOOD CHOICES THAT BENEFIT HUMAN HEALTH, STRENGTHEN COMMUNITIES, AND PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT. OUR HUDSON VALLEY CAMPUS, SHARED WITH THE RESTAURANT BLUE HILL AT STONE BARNS, IS A PLACE WHERE FARMERS, CHEFS, VISITORS, DINERS, EDUCATORS, researchers, scientists, entrepreneurs, AND ARTISANS COME TOGETHER TO PUSH THE BOUNDARIES OF SUSTAINABLE FARMING AND EATING.
- Income
- $9.5 million
- Spending
- $13.8 million
- Spent on programs
- 76%
- Reserves
- 47.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 39%
- Employees
- 53
- Volunteers
- 31
- Highest pay
- $308,222, director of agroecology
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 68% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 47.1 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 2% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 45% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 17% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1575% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 22 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 93 out of 100. Higher than 56% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2510 of 11 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $5.5 million spent. PUBLIC PROGRAMS (Community Engagement and Education) Engaging and educating the community on regenerative agriculture and healthy eating. See Schedule O. Public Programs (Community Engagement and Education) Engaging and educating the community on regenerative agriculture and healthy eating. THE GOAL OF OUR PUBLIC OUTREACH IS TO CONNECT PEOPLE TO WHAT THEY EAT AND AWAKEN THEM TO THE HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR CONSUMPTION PRACTICES. LEAF - Launched in 2023, The SBC Leading an Ecological Food System (L.E.A.F) program was created in collaboration with community leaders in the South Bronx. The program is designed to engage community members facing food insecurity in order to grow, eat, and connect with local, seasonal growing cycles. The program educates participants by providing fresh, locally grown produce while simultaneously fostering local food system engagement through step-by-step guidance and plant materials to grow their own food. During ongoing community education events, participants learn about soil health, sustainable farming, directly from Stone Barns farmers, and about simple and healthy ways to prepare the food they're growing and receiving directly from Blue Hill cooks. Participants complete surveys for the organization to modify and improve the program throughout the season and collect data on program impact as part of ongoing collaborative, scientific research efforts.Open House - Open House launched in May 2022 with our partner restaurant Blue Hill as a way to display the breadth of research projects, culinary experiments, and farming endeavors being executed by both organizations. Each Open House featured a pop-up farm and artisan market, a research showcase with tastes and explanations of current projects, culinary and beverage demonstrations, and additional property tours throughout the day.Cafeteria - The Cafeteria is a dining space meets orientation center, where visitors are invited to taste the collaborative research between Stone Barns and our restaurant partner, Blue Hill. The Cafeteria is open to the public five days a week and hosts breakfast, lunch, and dinner service, as well as the Market, a retail outlet for farm products and local artisan goods.Farm Store - Located inside the Cafeteria, the Farm Store is a retail outlet with produce, meat, eggs, cut flowers, and farm merchandise, as well as preserves and kitchen tools by Blue Hill. Weekly educational tours and monthly events focusing on specific areas of experimentation are offered to the public. Approximately once per month, we host outdoor Markets in the campus Courtyard, where visitors can meet our farmers, chefs, and butchers and we periodically invite outside local vendors.
- $4.6 million spent. Agroecosystems Research and Production and Innovation IMPROVING AND SPREADING SUSTAINABLE GROWING PRACTICES. See Schedule O. Agroecosystems Research and Production and Innovation IMPROVING AND SPREADING SUSTAINABLE GROWING PRACTICES.ON THE FARM AT STONE BARNS CENTER, WE EXPERIMENT WITH, TEST, AND DEVELOP NEW TOOLS, MONITORING PROTOCOLS, BREEDS OF CROPS AND LIVESTOCK, AND crop production and GRAZING METHODS TO RESTORE HEALTH TO THE SOIL. OUR FARMERS ARE DEDICATED TO CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT IN PURSUIT OF A TRULY RESILIENT, SUSTAINABLE FARMING ENTERPRISE FROM WHICH WE CAN EDUCATE THE next GENERATION. WE CONTINUE TO REFINE OUR PRACTICES, SUCH AS MULTI-SPECIES ROTATIONAL GRAZING, various rotational cropping systems and agroforestry/orchard management TO REDUCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF OUR OPERATION AND PRESERVE ENERGY AND MATERIAL WITHIN THE SYSTEM. WE CONVENE AND PARTNER WITH A WIDE RANGE OF EXPERTS, FROM UNIVERSITIES AND OTHER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS TO INNOVATIVE BUSINESS LEADERS AND INDEPENDENT FARMERS. OUR EXPERIMENTS LEAD TO NEW METHODS, VEGETABLE VARIETIES, TOOLS AND MODELS THAT OTHER FARMERS CAN LEARN FROM AND ADAPT TO THEIR OWN CONTEXT.INNOVATION - FOSTERING RESEARCH AND INNOVATION THAT DRIVES FOOD CULTURE CHANGE. THE FARMERS, scientists, LAND STEWARDS, AND ARTISANS AT STONE BARNS CENTER BUILD ON THEIR COLLABORATIVE WORK WITH OUR PARTNER CHEFS IN THE KITCHEN AT BLUE HILL AT STONE BARNS THROUGH INNOVATION THAT SUPPORTS ONGOING RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTATION. THIS FRAMEWORK INCLUDES SEED LAB, MEAT PROCESSING CENTER, PRESERVATION LAB, COLD STORAGE LAB, A BAKERY & MILL. THE WORK THAT WE DO ALLOWS FOR A MORE DEMOCRATIC AND COOPERATIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR R&D AMONG THE PRODUCERS, DISTRIBUTORS, PROCESSORS, AND RESEARCHERS, BEYOND THE FARMERS AND CHEFS OF STONE BARNS AND BLUE HILL. WE TEST IN REAL WORLD SETTINGS THE INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES AND RESEARCH.EXAMPLES OF OUR COLLABORATIVE WORK INCLUDE GRAIN PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND TRIALS, SEED BREEDING AND TRIALS FOR GRAIN, FLORAL, AND VEGETABLES, AND PRESERVATION AND STORAGE. AS PART OF THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS, ECOLOGY AND FARM DIRECTORS WORK WITH THEIR CULINARY AND ARTISAN COUNTERPARTS ON INNOVATIVE AND INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS.
- $305,799 spent. The advisory services program is designed to support agricultural, hospitality, and other enterprises in adopting agroecological, sustainable, and climate-resilient practices. Through this initiative, we provide tailored guidance, technical expertise, and strategic support to help organizations align their operations with environmental and social goals. The program is open to a wide range of clientsfrom farms and food producers to hospitality providers and mission-driven businessesseeking to improve ecological outcomes, strengthen community resilience, and contribute to more sustainable local economies.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since July 2001.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
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