California FarmLink
California FarmLink
335 SPRECKELS DR STE F
Aptos CA 95003-3952
Aptos CA | IRS ruling year: 1999 | EIN: 94-3332630
TO INVEST IN THE PROSPERITY OF FARMERS AND RANCHERS THROUGH LENDING, EDUCATION AND ACCESS TO LAND.
Your donation attempt encountered a problem. Please refresh the page to try again.
You're faster than our page! Give the page a little longer to finish loading and try your donation again.
335 SPRECKELS DR STE F
Aptos CA 95003-3952
Aptos CA | IRS ruling year: 1999 | EIN: 94-3332630
TO INVEST IN THE PROSPERITY OF FARMERS AND RANCHERS THROUGH LENDING, EDUCATION AND ACCESS TO LAND.
Good
This charity's score is 87%, earning it a Three-Star rating. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence.
This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores: 90% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability. Learn more about our criteria and methodology.
We recognize that not all metrics and beacons equally predict a charity’s success. The percentage each beacon contributes to the organization’s overall rating depends on the number of beacons an organization has earned.
Use the tool below to select different beacons to see how the weighting shifts when only one, two, or three beacons are earned.
Rating histories are available for a growing number of rated organizations. Check back later to see if this organization has a rating history!
The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Accountability & Finance score for California FarmLink is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have.
California FarmLink has earned a 85% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.
This Accountability & Finance score represents IRS Form 990 data up until FY 2020, which is the most recent Form 990 currently available to us.
Learn more
Charity Navigator looks for at least 3 board members, with more than 50% of those members identified as independent (not salaried).
The presence of an independent governing body is strongly recommended by many industry professionals to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters.
Source: IRS Form 990
An Audit, Review, or Compilation provides important information about financial accountability and accuracy. Organizations are scored based on their Total Revenue Amount:
Total Revenue Amount | Expectation to Receive Credit |
---|---|
$1 million or higher | Expected to complete an audit |
$500,000 - $1 million | Expected to complete an audit, review, or compilation |
Less than $500,000 | No expectation (removed from scoring methodology) |
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a conflict of interest policy on the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy protects the organization and by extension those it serves, when it is considering entering into a transaction that may benefit the private interest of an officer, director and/or key employee of the organization.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has this process in place as an accountability and transparency measure.
An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a document retention and destruction policy per the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy establishes guidelines for the handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promote data integrity.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a whistleblower policy per the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report financial or other types of mismanagement.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for a website on the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency metric.
Nonprofits act in the public trust and reporting publicly on activities is an important component.
Source: IRS Form 990
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990). This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and/or long-term sustainability.
Liabilities to Assets Ratio | Amount of Credit Received |
---|---|
Less than 50% | Full Credit |
50% - 59.9% | Partial Credit |
60% or more | No Credit |
Source: IRS Form 990
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s). This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver.
Program Expense Percentage | Amount of Credit Received |
---|---|
70% or higher | Full Credit |
60% - 69.9% | Partial Credit |
50% - 59.9% | Zero Points for Program Expense Score |
Below 50% | Zero Points for Both Program Expense AND Liabilities to Assets Scores |
Source: IRS Form 990
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
No Data Available
Key Persons data is currently unavailable for this organization. This data is only available if this charity has at least one year of electronically-filed Form 990 data filed within the last six years.
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Activities:
Activity data not reported from the IRS
Foundation Status:
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). Simply enter the organization's name (California FarmLink) or EIN (943332630) in the 'Search Term' field.
This organization was impacted by COVID-19 in a way that effected their financial health in 2020. This normally would have reduced their star rating. Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them, and doing this pauses our revision of their rating. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
California FarmLink reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Revenue
Staffing
Administrative Capacity
Balance Sheet
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
From 2020-2021, California Farmlink’s grantors and social impact investors responded generously to support the organization's ability to serve its client community. During the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 that meant 319 total loans, including 192 PPP loans and 30 clients enrolled in our business development services, particularly the Business Resilience training courses. During this period, FarmLink issued more than $10 million in loans, from small annual operating loans, to term business loans, and farm equipment loans – all of which were priced and structured in innovative ways that are not sufficiently profitable for conventional lenders. For 2023 and beyond, our strategic trajectory is to expand our impact to many of the underserved small farms, ranchers, and fishing businesses in the state that we haven’t been able to reach due to the travel constraints in 2020-21, economic uncertainties of the pandemic, and limited staffing.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
The pandemic severely impacted California FarmLink’s ability to conduct its educational and technical assistance programs as planned in 2020. The organization's clients, many of whom are small-scale farmers selling to restaurants, experienced a sudden drop in demand. In response, FarmLink immediately shifted its educational and one-on-one technical assistance to online platforms, where possible. Another major change to 2020 work plans involved adopting the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) as soon as it was made available by the Small Business Administration. FarmLink staff quickly adjusted its lending processes to include the PPP’s forgivable loans as well as worksheets and resources to help clients quickly calculate the extent of their eligibility. When the program closed, FarmLink had made 212 PPP pandemic relief loans totaling $5 million – 93% of these farms had less than $1 million in annual sales.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
California FarmLink is addressing the economic impact of COVID-19 through a lending strategy that incorporates a new array of integrated capital – 0% operating loans, forgivable down payment assistance and business development services – to help clients be resilient to the economic impacts of the pandemic. The organization shifted a substantial part of its lending team resources to pandemic response initiatives including the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and its own in-house COVID-19 Emergency Response loan program, which was designed to help borrowers that were not eligible for PPP. FarmLink opened its doors to hundreds of small farms throughout the state, many who were turned away by banks and credit unions who considered them too small or complicated.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
FarmLink will apply lessons learned from the pandemic to scale a new, 0% long-term operating capital loan and a forgivable down payment loan to accelerate pathways to land and asset acquisition. Growers who have emerged from the pandemic are managing higher costs due to new safety protocols and inflationary pressures. FarmLink will tailor its suite of financial products to address these impacts, coupled with new business development services, including new stipends to alleviate the cost of professional services such as bookkeepers, to increase the financial resilience of small businesses. In addition to the stipends, new low-interest loans, ranging from 0-3%, are conditioned on completion of our Business Resilience course, which is provided in both English and Spanish.
Not Currently Scored
California FarmLink cannot currently be evaluated by our Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Learn More
California FarmLink reported its two largest programs on its FY 2020 Form 990 as:
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
FARM AND RANCH PROSPERITY LOAN PROGRAM - THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED BY $889,698 IN GRANT FUNDING. IT PROVIDES LOAN FINANCING DESIGNED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF UNDERSERVED, IMMIGRANT AND BEGINNING FARMERS. ... (More)
FARM AND RANCH PROSPERITY LOAN PROGRAM - THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED BY $889,698 IN GRANT FUNDING. IT PROVIDES LOAN FINANCING DESIGNED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF UNDERSERVED, IMMIGRANT AND BEGINNING FARMERS. THIS INCLUDES LOANS FOR FARM OPERATIONS, EQUIPMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE AND PURCHASES OF LAND. BORROWERS SERVED WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE DIFFICULTY SECURING FINANCING DUE TO LIMITED BUSINESS HISTORY AND COLLATERAL, SMALL LOANS REQUIRED, AND LANGUAGE BARRIERS. FARMLINK ALSO DIRECTS FARMERS TO OTHER FINANCING SUITED TO THEIR UNIQUE NEEDS. FARMLINK MADE 195 AND 78 LOANS IN 2020 AND 2019, WITH AVERAGE LOAN SIZES OF $31,902 AND $91,402, RESPECTIVELY. IN ADDITION, DURING 2020 FARMLINK MADE 112 SBA PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM (PPP) FORGIVABLE LOANS TO FARM COMMUNITIES UNDERSERVED BY OTHER LENDERS. (Less)
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
LAND ACCESS AND FARM BUSINESS EDUCATION PROGRAMS - THESE PROGRAMS ARE SUPPORTED BY $1,168,330 IN GRANT FUNDING AND CONNECT FARMERS SEEKING LAND WITH LAND OPPORTUNITIES AND PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ... (More)
LAND ACCESS AND FARM BUSINESS EDUCATION PROGRAMS - THESE PROGRAMS ARE SUPPORTED BY $1,168,330 IN GRANT FUNDING AND CONNECT FARMERS SEEKING LAND WITH LAND OPPORTUNITIES AND PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO HELP ESTABLISH HIGH-QUALITY LAND TENURE AGREEMENTS. (Less)
California FarmLink cannot currently be evaluated by our Culture & Community methodology because we have not received data from the charity regarding its Constituent Feedback or Equity Practices strategies.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Learn More
California FarmLink has earned a 100% for the Leadership & Adaptability beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
Learn more
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's mission
California FarmLink’s mission is to invest in the prosperity of farmers and ranchers through lending, education, and access to land. The organization is certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), one of the first in the nation focused on sustainable and organic agriculture as well as economic and environmental resilience. We believe that successful farm, ranch, and fisheries businesses can support local food systems, living-wage jobs, and a healthy environment.
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
California FarmLink envisions a healthy food system where farmers and ranchers have equitable opportunities to build wealth and conserve natural resources. We value equitable access to opportunity, resilient working landscapes, fairness and accountability, and learning from diverse farmers and ranchers.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Create genuine economic opportunities for beginning and limited-resource farmers, ranchers and fishers.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Two: Build wealth among beginning farmers, ranchers and fishers, with a focus on people of color, by providing training and technical assistance.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Three: Help those served to gain secure access to the land, infrastructure and equipment necessary to grow and maintain resilient businesses.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
California FarmLink maintains an annual budget for each staff member to use as they see fit for professional and personal development and leadership coaching.The organization is able to access a network of volunteer coaches available to work with staff members, along with key industry conferences and training seminars. Leadership development among clients is underway with the creation of a six-member Farmer Advisory Council in 2022. The Council provides insight on matters related to programs and services impacting the Council members’ communities, program effectiveness, identifying potential improvements to services, and understanding emerging demands from various client communities.
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
Policy Advocacy
Our staff maintain involvement in a wide variety of partnerships and communications activities that help contribute our unique knowledge while also learning from others to support our continuous improvement. FarmLink staff are involved in federal and state policy coalitions, CDFI industry leadership groups, farm conferences and other forums. As one of very few farm-, ranch-, and fisheries-focused Community Development Financial Institutions, one of our greatest areas of focus is to help other groups serving these businesses learn how we have created and sustained our programs and services.
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
One of the most important adaptations has been California FarmLink’s deployment of very-low-interest loans for farmers of color and low-income farmers. In response to the pandemic's uneven impacts on people and communities, supporters and partners deepened their focus and increased their grants and investments to help dismantle structural racism and remedy its resulting economic disparities. In addition to discounted loans, often at 0% interest with no fees, FarmLink is helping to expand the number of small grants available to beginning farmers, women and farmers of color through partnering with organizations like large retail food co-ops. FarmLink is also reallocating budget resources to enable partners to aid farmers with specific-purpose grants, such as helping cover costs related to implementing new conservation practices.
Impact & Results
Accountability & Finance
Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
The Giving Basket is having some issues. If you wish to donate, please refresh the page. If the problem persists contact us.
Cart ID: Not Assigned
The Giving Basket is having some issues. If you wish to donate, please refresh the page. If the problem persists contact us.
Cart ID: Not Assigned