Niweskok
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Niweskok, a collaboration of food and medicine providers, rematriates Wabanaki life ways by engaging with our kinship responsibilities and reclaiming traditional foods and healing. We prioritize restoring the Penobscot Bay region as a Wabanaki food hub.
- Income
- $1.1 million
- Spending
- $15,233
- Spent on programs
- 13%
- Reserves
- Over 10 years of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 100%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 15
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
We do not score finances when yearly spending is very small or the return has too little detail. The ratios stop meaning much at that size.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Fair: 68 out of 100. Higher than 27% of charities in its peer group (food and agriculture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 257 of 7 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no 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
0 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, 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 (2)
- $1,912 spent. Wabanaki Rematriation School (WRS) engages Wabanaki families in rematriating our foodways and feeding our communities. At the root of each community harvest, workshop, and set of curriculum materials we develop is the transmission of traditional ecological knowledge through Wabanaki languages, history, stories, ecology, and climate adaptation. WRS served 530 Wabanaki community members and provided 45 program service days in 2024.
- Alihpewakanal, our agricultural program is central to Niweskok's work, and is rooted in rematriation. It helps Indigenous communities reconnect with and care for their ancestral lands. The site sits on more than 200 acres along the Goose River. Here on the farm, traditional knowledge and regenerative practices come together naturally. As Niweskok is getting re-aquainted to the land in the ancestral territory of the Penobscot Bay region, we are working with the land to heal it and restore it to a more traditional way of caring for the earth. Reaching toward decolonizing the diet and food sovereignty, Alihpewakanal- "Things to Eat", our agricultural program, focuses on growing native plant relatives and traditional food crops while building soils. It's a space where cultural resilience is nurtured. We engage in the gift economy and share all foods grown, gathered, and processed without cost to Wabanaki families. We were able to provide more than 4,000 pounds of locally grown vegetables, 492 pounds of traditional wild rice, 1,565 pounds of traditional cornmeal, and 2,951 pounds of locally raised organic poultry and locally caught shellfish. In addition, we gifted 444 quarts of berries, fiddleheads, and value-added products such as jams and maple syrup to Wabanaki families throughout the state.
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 April 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 October 21, 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.