High Plains Permaculture
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Our primary exempt purpose is educational We use the management of diverse regenerative demonstration farms to provide hands-on experience for the public to engage with their food systems and access high quality nutritious food We also use the farms as experimental sites to further develop ecological farm systems for our bioregion that sequester carbon support biodiversity rehydrate landscapes and otherwise help adapt to and mitigate climate change
- Income
- $110,145
- Spending
- $83,849
- Reserves
- 0.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 90%
- Highest pay
- $31,000, executive director
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 56 out of 100. Higher than 21% of charities in its peer group (food and agriculture, under $250k).
Reserves
4 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 0.9 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 24% of income.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ 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)
- $25,858 spent. Our first program area is providing hands-on educational opportunities for the general public to participate in tending diverse regenerative farm systems We provided 1530 participant hours of engagement on our sites across 38 volunteer days We also hosted a tree planting action day on our partner site Wild View Farm mobilizing roughly 90 attendees to plant 1600 trees and shrubs in 3 hours We partnered with several schools to host educational field trips including Naropa University CU Law School Front Range Community College and a middle school homeschool collective We also hosted two farm-to-table brunch and tour events with an additional 100 attendees The vast majority of our budget is directed to managing the farm systems and volunteer communities that serve all three of these program areas in tandem it is not possible to detach them from one another so I have split the expenses and grants for running the farms evenly between each program category
- $25,858 spent. All of the food from our farm systems goes towards feeding volunteer participants creating free access to high quality foods At each of the 38 volunteer days we hosted we served a nutritious farm to table meal to 15 individuals totaling 570 meals served We also distributed vegetables fruits eggs medicinal herbs and meat to our participants as seasonally available Because our focus is on cultivating a complete diet we track the total calories produced by food group across each year at the Niwot Homestead not including other partner properties This year on 1 cultivated acre we produced enough food to feed 18 individuals a complete diet year-round a 180 increase from last year In actuality of course this food was distributed amongst about 40 people in proportion to their participation We also produced a surplus of approximately 950 lbs of beef and pork as a byproduct of land regeneration at our partner property Wild View Farm for distribution to volunteer members and sale to support programming The vast majority of our budget is directed to managing the farm systems and volunteer communities that serve all three of these program areas in tandem it is not possible to detach them from one another so I have split the expenses and grants for running the farms evenly between each program category
- $25,858 spent. Our farm systems also serve as living experiments exploring new strategies for building bioregional food systems that sequester carbon retain water and support biodiversity Through our research program we continued to track 8 metrics of soil health and insect biodiversity by functional group across our farm systems We also conducted a census of the 1600 trees and shrubs planted at Wild View Farm as a baseline for tracking survival rates by species over time Overall our farm strategies have increased soil organic matter by at least 144 compared to the baselinecontrol and up to 283 in some systems The vast majority of our budget is directed to managing the farm systems and volunteer communities that serve all three of these program areas in tandem it is not possible to detach them from one another so I have split the expenses and grants for running the farms evenly between each program category
Source: Form 990EZ 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 December 2024.
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.