Life Lab Science Program
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Life Lab cultivates childrens love of learning, healthy food, and nature through garden-based education.
- Income
- $2.4 million
- Spending
- $1.2 million
- Spent on programs
- 75%
- Reserves
- 5.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 74%
- Employees
- 70
- Volunteers
- 25
- Highest pay
- $103,687, executive dir.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 71% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 5.9 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 8% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 51% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 5% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1575% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 5 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 74% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 259 of 9 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
7 of 7Has a 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 June 30, 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 (4)
- $488,923 spent. Local School Site Programs: Life Lab provides garden classroom instruction, design, garden care, curriculum, teacher training, and program leadership and advisory support to school districts and their public elementary schools in Santa Cruz County, particularly in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District through an extensive program partnership. Life Lab is also supporting garden-based learning in Live Oak School District and Santa Cruz City Schools, with a long-term vision of closer partnership with all 10 local districts and their 40 total elementary schools.(continued on schedule o) In addition to garden classrooms staffing and instruction, Life Lab also works directly with district Food and Nutrition Services teams to advance student food and nutrition learning and wellness and connect cafeteria and garden programs. These district-level programs currently impact more than 7,500 children age 4 to 11 each year, emphasizing Next Generation Science, language development, nourishing foods, and social-emotional learning and wellness.
- $388,527 spent. National Programs: Life Lab offers hands-on workshops on garden-based science, nutrition, and environmental education for educators from across the nation at its Garden Classroom in Santa Cruz, CA, and on demand around the U.S. It also offers a 16-week intensive Certified School Garden Educator course of virtual trainings, coaching, and peer sharing for participants across the country. Life Lab also hosts an annual national School Garden Support Organization Leadership Institute in partnership with Whole Kids Foundation to help teams from peer organizations share and advance best practices for the field. Life Lab develops and distributes curricula, activity guides and other learning materials nationally to support preK-6 teachers in successfully implementing hands-on garden-based education programs. (continued on Schedule O) As a longtime leader in this field, Life Lab facilitates networking and information sharing among organizations supporting garden-based learning as a core member of the National School Garden Network it co-founded in 2013. Beginning in 2022, Life Lab also co-created and co-leads with the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation the national Growing School Gardens Summit biennially for school garden programs and practitioners. These National Programs impact more than 500,000 young students across the U.S each year.
- Local Community Site Programs: Life Lab provides school year field trips and summer day programs at its Garden Classroom and Blooming Classroom educational gardens located on farms in Santa Cruz and Watsonville, respectively. Gardens give children the chance to experience hands-on learning about science, nutrition, the environment and much more. The Garden Classroom also serves as a demonstration site for visitors interested in developing educational gardens. Life Lab staff train and mentor more than 60 college and community interns to serve as experiential garden-based science and environmental educators each year in field trip programs.
- Regional School Site Programs: Life Lab serves as the fiscal sponsor for Growing Healthy Kids, an unincorporated community-based organization providing unique outdoor educational learning opportunities to over 10,000 students at 16 schools throughout the Mt Diablo Unified School District in Bay Point, Clayton, Concord, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek, CA. Growing Healthy Kids shares Life Labs mission of cultivating childrens love of learning, healthy food and nature through garden education, and a commitment to equity and inclusion so that all cultures and identities are respected and celebrated.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 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 June 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 January 1982.
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.