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Dry Farming Institute

EIN 84-3400072 · Corvallis, OR

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong100 out of 100GovernanceGood86 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

WE SUPPORT GROWERS EXPLORATION OF DRY FARMING AND OTHER WATER RESILIENT AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES THROUGH COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS, OUTREACH, AND EDUCATION.

Income
$421,668
Spending
$182,693
Spent on programs
67%
Reserves
16.5 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 80%
Employees
2
Highest pay
$82,069, director

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 81% of charities in its peer group (food and agriculture, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 16.5 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 3% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 57% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 141% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    67% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Good: 86 out of 100. Higher than 76% of charities in its peer group (food and agriculture, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    5 of 5 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    0 of 5

    Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.

  • Independent check of accounts

    6 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, 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 (1)
  1. $122,721 spent. OUR FARM: A LIVING LABORATORY FOR DRY FARMING INNOVATION OUR FARM SITES SERVE AS A LIVING LABORATORY FOR HANDS-ON EXPERIMENTATION AND EDUCATIONAL DEMONSTRATION. FROM CROP VARIETY TRIALS AND SEED STEWARDSHIP TO SOIL HEALTH AND WATER CONSERVATION STRATEGIES, OUR LAND-BASED WORK GENERATES PRACTICAL INSIGHTS THAT GROUND AND INFORM ALL WE DO . OUR WORK: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR EXPLORING WATER RESILIENCE WE PARTNER WITH GROWERS, AGRICULTURAL ADVISORS, AND RESEARCHERS, PRIMARILY IN THE MARITIME PACIFIC NORTHWEST, TO CO-CREATE LOW-INPUT, WATER-RESILIENT SOLUTIONS THAT FIT LOCAL CONTEXTS AND CHALLENGES. FLEXIBLE, COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS DFI IS OPERATING THROUGH A FLEXIBLE, PROJECT-BY-PROJECT MODEL. THIS NIMBLE APPROACH ALLOWS US TO TEST IDEAS AND WORK WITH HIGHLY MOTIVATED PARTNERS ON INITIATIVES RANGING FROM EDUCATIONAL STORYTELLING AND WORKSHOPS TO TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR DEMONSTRATION FARMS. EACH PROJECT IS TAILORED TO MEET GROWERS WHERE THEY ARE AND SHARE WHATS LEARNED WITH BROADER NETWORKS. 2025 PROJECTS STORYTELLING FOR IMPACT: CASE STUDIES WERE CAPTURING THE STORIES OF GROWERS WHO ARE NAVIGATING WATER UNCERTAINTY WITH CREATIVITY AND BUILDING RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF WATER UNCERTAINTY. THESE CASE STUDIES HELP TRANSLATE INNOVATION INTO ACTION AND FOSTER CONNECTION ACROSS REGIONS. WELL BE SHARING THESE STORIES ONLINE, IN COMMUNITY-CENTERED PRESENTATIONS, AND ALONGSIDE PARTNERS WHO ARE HELPING TO SPREAD THE WORD. VIRTUAL WATER RESILIENCE WORKSHOPS THESE INTERACTIVE SESSIONS BRING TOGETHER AG PROFESSIONALS AND GROWERS ACROSS THE WEST COAST TO EXPLORE TAILORED WATER STRATEGIES, SHARE KNOWLEDGE, AND BUILD PEER-TO-PEER NETWORKS. A WATER RESILIENCE TOOLKIT THE DRY FARMING INSTITUTE (DFI) IS DEVELOPING A PRACTICAL, GROWER-CENTERED TOOLKIT THAT PROVIDES CLEAR, ACTIONABLE STEPS FOR EXPLORING AND IMPLEMENTING WATER-RESILIENT STRATEGIES ON FARMS. THIS TOOLKIT IS BASED OFF OF A DECADE PLUS OF COLLABORATIVE PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH STARTED AT OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY AND CONTINUED EXPLORATORY TRIALS WITH DFI.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since March 2020.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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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