National Ag Science Center

aka National Ag Science Center   |   Modesto, CA   |  www.agsciencecenter.org

Mission

Providing students with unique programs in agriculture and science - to promote positive educational experiences and an awareness of career connections and issues important to sustainable agriculture in California.

Ruling year info

1996

Principal Officer

Dr. Emily Lawrence

Main address

PO Box 4937

Modesto, CA 95352 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

Ag Science Center

Stanislaus County Ag Foundation

EIN

77-0438308

NTEE code info

Other Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition N.E.C. (K99)

Educational Services and Schools - Other (B90)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The challenge in the Central Valley is connecting the agriculture industry, education systems with pathway and STEM programs, and the students who will ultimately be the next generation workforce in agriculture. Awareness, career exploration and opportunity discovery, and conversations must all be facilitated to ensure that the needs of each segment are addressed. The National Ag Science Center hopes to be the catalyst for these conversations and connections. Additional challenges include: *Creating avenues for student access to the skills, education, and internship programs within the agriculture industry; *Initiating and strengthening industry and education partnerships to reflect the ever changing needs of the agriculture (and related) industry; and *Educating the community on the importance of agriculture not only to our area but to the world as well as to their children and future generations who will sustain the industry's work.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Ag In Motion (AIM)

Bringing ag science to 7th and 8th grade students in a mobile educational experience. Students participate in hands-on, engaging lessons that tie agriculture to science and explore career opportunities in the Central Valley's agriculture industry. Are you sleuthing DNA? Then try CSI Strawberry. Do you want to know if you could survive growing broccoli on the moon? Participate in Astronaut Farmer. And there's more...

Population(s) Served
Adolescents

Where we work

Affiliations & memberships

Association of Fundraising Professionals - Member 2005

American Association of Museums - Member 2005

Association of Science and Technology Centers 2003

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Convening groups, establishing cooperative partnerships, and focusing on how best to align industry and education is a big step in a forward moving direction. Our goals include creating an extended community aware of the importance of agriculture and a recognition of its relevance in technology, manufacturing, processing, and feeding the world.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    We serve our local community of K-20 students and their parents and families. Our collaborations and partnerships target at-risk youth and socioeconomically disadvantaged and underserved populations. We also focus on community events with outreach to diverse populations, age groups, and educational levels. We strive to provide educational outreach in ag science to engage our community in an area about which we are rich and rife with interest and career opportunities.

  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

    Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees, Social Media feedback,

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To identify community and industry challenges, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    Based on feedback from a recent train the trainer session, programming was adjusted and expanded to include activities and topic areas of additional interest to the students enrolled in summer programming.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    Feedback and the organizational responses to it helps to strengthen the relationship with our partners and collaborative groups as well as ensure our funders and donors understand our responsiveness to the community we serve. Feedback helps us to align with what our community needs but also what they want. It is always exciting to see and hear what has motivated our youth to become engaged in ag science and the potential career opportunities to which they have access (and maybe did not know that).

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback,

Financials

National Ag Science Center
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

National Ag Science Center

Board of directors
as of 02/22/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board co-chair

Ms. Brandi LoForti

insureCAL Insurance Agency

Term: 2019 - 2021


Board co-chair

Mr. Doug VanDiepen

Del Monte Foods

Term: 2019 - 2021

Tom Gallo

G3 Enterprises

Chris Lehikainen

Stanislaus Food Products

Jeff Duarte

Duarte Nursery

Brandi LoForti

insureCAL Insurance Agency

Doug VanDiepen

Del Monte Foods

Brad Ardis

Huff Construction

Daniel Bays

Bays Ranches

Colin Funk

B2B

Craig Pitau

Thorsen's/Tenney A. Norquist

Kimberley Hernandez

Haley Farms

Paul Huckaba

Bronco Wine Company

David Evans

Stanislaus State

Matt Cranford

Stanislaus County Fair

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 4/29/2021

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 04/29/2021

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
Policies and processes
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.