Unadilla Community Farm Education Center Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Primary exempt purpose: Educational. Unadilla Community Farm Education Center Inc's mission is to showcase and teach climate-resilient agriculture while increasing food access and access to herbalism for low-income, low-access communities. As a member of USDA's Conservation Stewardship Program and the first Otsego County recipient of New York State's Climate Resilient Farming program, we showcase a diversity of USDA NRCS recommended conservation practices. We run a variety of education and training programs on sustainable agriculture. We also help to increase food access and access to herbalism by donating 100% of our produce to food pantries, mutual aid groups, and herbal clinics, which in 2025 amounted to $109,182.42 worth of produce distributed to 27 partner organizations. By increasing the amount of fresh produce available for low-income, low-access communities, we both improve health and nutrition for communities in need and reduce family food budgets.
- Income
- $370,754
- Spending
- $102,392
- Spent on programs
- 93%
- Reserves
- 36.8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 93%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 77
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 35Spendable reserves would cover 36.8 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 72% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 219% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1593% 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: 76 out of 100. Higher than 60% of charities in its peer group (food and agriculture, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
18 of 253 of 3 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.
Independent check of accounts
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed 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, 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 (3)
- $18,461 spent. In 2025, Unadilla Community Farm Education Center Inc's Beginning Farmer Training Program provided services to 76 people, including 7 participants in our Farm Fellowship, 1 student intern who received internship credits, 6 participants in a guided tour of the food forest, and 51 participants through Day Volunteering and Community Volunteer Days. The Farm Fellowship was a season-long, in-depth educational opportunity with a dual focus on both classroom and hands-on learning, wherein a total of 7 Fellows learned how to efficiently design and implement sustainable farming practices at-scale. Additionally, a guided tour of the food forest was held during 2025, providing an educational opportunity to 7 tour participants. Finally, our Day Volunteering and Community Volunteer Days offered an opportunity for the surrounding community to come help out on the farm, learn new gardening skills, and assist with production and harvesting for our food access and herbal aid work. Volunteers can count their hours towards experiential course credit requirements, community service requirements, and volunteer paid time off programs for corporate employees. The Beginning Farmer Training Program incurred $17,802.18 in programmatic expenses during 2025.
- $38,819 spent. Unadilla Community Farm Education Center Inc's Food Access Program consists of partnerships with local food pantries across Central New York to provide free nutrient-dense fruits, vegetables, and culinary herbs for their clients. Our nonprofit is located in, and serves communities in, USDA designated low-income, low-access, urban & rural food deserts. Feedback from the food pantry partners that we work with across the region indicates that they are under increased pressure to address rising food insecurity, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, inflation, and recent SNAP cuts. Pantry partners frequently share with us that there is a lack of fresh produce available to their clients, and that some fresh produce programs that were available as a result of COVID relief funding have since dried up. By increasing the amount of high-quality fresh produce available to their clients, we can both improve nutrition for food insecure communities and reduce their family food budgets, freeing up family funds for other needs. In 2025, the Food Access Program delivered free produce to 15 food pantry partners across Central New York State, donating produce valued at $45,814.40. Our food pantry partners then distributed our produce to an estimated 7,078 people, based on the estimates of our food pantry partners on how many people they serve on a regular basis. The Food Access Program incurred $32,902.09 in programmatic expenses during 2025.
- $37,650 spent. Unadilla Community Farm Education Center Inc's Herbal Aid Program grows and delivers free, fresh medicinal herbs to mutual aid groups, free herbal clinics, and community apothecaries to increase herbal health access, particularly for economically disadvantaged and marginalized communities. Our herbal aid partners fill an important gap by providing free herbal health services to low-income and uninsured people who would otherwise fall through the cracks in the U.S. healthcare system. Additionally, distributing free herbal medicine to marginalized communities serves to reclaim plant medicine traditions that have been historically erased by the for-profit pharmaceutical industry. We provide fresh medicinal herbs to our herbal aid partners at no cost, including free delivery within a 90 minute radius of the farm and free shipping via priority mail in insulated coolers to preserve freshness. Our partners then utilize our herb donations to provide free herbal services including health & wellness consultations, internal and external herbal preparations, and supplies for home medicine making, particularly for low-income, BIPOC, unhoused, and immigrant communities. In 2025, we donated medicinal herbs valued at $55,338.87 to 12 herbal clinics located in New York State, Pennsylvania, Vermont, North Carolina, and Georgia. Our herbal aid partners then distributed our herbs and derivative herbal products to an estimated 1,427 people, based on the estimates of our herbal aid partners on how many people they serve on a regular basis. The Herbal Aid Program incurred $31,733.14 in programmatic expenses during 2025.
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
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 November 6, 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 2025.
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 June 2020.
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 November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.