ROOTED WI, INC.
Growing Community. Together.
ROOTED WI, INC.
EIN: 39-1854762
as of September 2024
as of September 09, 2024
Mission
Collaborations rooted in food, land, and learning. Rooted evolved from a desire to merge the strengths of two vibrant Madison organizations—Center for Resilient Cities and Community GroundWorks—committed to enabling people to grow and thrive in healthy, equitable, and sustainable neighborhoods.
Notes from the nonprofit
Awards listed were received under Rooted's former name, Center for Resilient Cities, for our work in Milwaukee (2011, 2013, 2017) and Madison (2012).
Ruling year
1996
Co-Executive Director
Hedi Rudd
Co-Executive Director
Ginny Hughes
Main address
2702 International Lane, Suite 200
Madison, WI 53704 USA
Formerly known as
Urban Open Space Foundation
Center for Resilient Cities
EIN
39-1854762
Outdoor education
Agricultural education
Community food systems
Food sovereignty
Sustainable agriculture
Population served
Adults
Families
Children and youth
Multiracial people
Economically disadvantaged people
NTEE code
Community, Neighborhood Development, Improvement (S20)
Other Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition N.E.C. (K99)
Environmental Quality, Protection, and Beautification N.E.C. (C99)
IRS subsection
501(c)(3) Public Charity
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Tax forms
Communication
Affiliations
Programs and results
Reports and documents
Download annual reports Download other documentsWhat we aim to solve
In 2020, we launched our strategic planning as a newly merged organization with an organization-wide racial and social equity assessment. The resulting Racial Equity Roadmap (plan) was adopted by our Board of Directors in November, to guide our continued board and staff growth and development over the next 5 years. Goals include diversifying our board and staff, deepening connections across program teams, hiring a full-time development director, increasing staff pay across all pay bands, and diversifying our organizational income stream. The board directed that 5% of every employee's FTE be allocated to racial and social capacity building work, with a dedicated budget column for that work. A staff-led (and compensated) Change Team is charged with reviewing organizational policies and practices to remove barriers to racial and social equity. More traditional strategic planning is underway in 2022 across all programs and the organization.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Badger Rock Neighborhood Center/Urban Farm
A place for neighbors to gather and connect. Monthly CommUNITY Dinners and year-round programming support neighbors of all ages, families and children. Our weekly Badger Rock Community Market offers fresh, locally and organically grown produce, and gives neighborhood artisans/entrepreneurs the opportunity to sell the products they make.
Badger Rock Urban Farm is an educational farm supporting healthy food access in the surrounding neighborhoods. The farm is managed by our staff and is a learning space for students attending Badger Rock Middle School (BRMS). As part of their school-year garden class, BRMS students use organic growing practices, starting produce from seed in a heated greenhouse over the winter, planting out seedlings in two hoop houses and garden beds come spring, and tending the gardens with our staff. In the summer, former BRMS students, now high school age, return as interns who are paid a stipend for their work. Produce is sold at the Badger Rock Farmstand.
Troy Farm
Troy Farm is a vegetable production and education project of Rooted. Since 2001, the farm has been growing certified organic vegetables on Madison’s Northside since 2001. In 2023, the farm supported over 200 households using a market share, community-supported agriculture model, with discounted memberships for income-qualified households. Troy Farm also provides land access to several small scale partner growers of color.
The Gardens Network
The Gardens Network is a collaborative partnership between Rooted, UW-Madison – Extension Dane County, and the City of Madison. The network includes an array of organizations, garden organizers, systems, municipalities, initiatives, funders, and programs working on community food issues in Dane County.
We connect people in Dane County with the land, education, and resources to create and sustain community gardens that foster food, engagement, and equity. Technical assistance and support covers a range of areas including equitable land access, land leases, horticultural expertise, outreach and community engagement strategies, garden expansion/renovation support, new garden development, and leadership development and training.
Youth Education Programs
Rooted offers a variety of early care and education (ECE) through high school youth programs, focused on teaching the next generation of farmers and gardeners. Our staff offers field trips for classroom and community groups at multiple program sites from April through October. On field trips, students are active participants in the garden or on the farm. Field trips can be tailored to meet classroom learning goals. Through our AmeriCorps Farm to School Program, Rooted provides schools with planning, development, and staffing for school gardens, and other Farm to School (F2S) opportunities including garden-based and nutrition lessons and visits with local farmers. We have developed free, downloadable Wisconsin farm to ECE resources for ECE providers, support organizations, food service staff, and food producers in the state. We also provide support for the Wisconsin School Garden Network (WSGN), growing a community of support for educators across the state.
Where we work
Awards
Mayor's Design Awards 2011
City of Milwaukee
MANDI for Best Public Space 2011
LISC
Community First Partnership Award 2012
Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
Mayor's Design Awards 2013
City of Milwaukee
Brewers Community Foundation Public Space Award 2017
LISC
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of advisory councils the organization is a part of
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Members of our staff serve on the Madison Food Policy Council and the Dane County Food Council. The Councils are responsible for making local policy and regulatory recommendations on the food system.
Number of fiscal sponsor applicants sponsored
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
We have served as fiscal sponsor for an international network of community land trusts. That group has since achieved its own 501c3 status.
Number of curricula designed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We have designed curricula for all ages around home/school gardening, urban agriculture, and beginning farmer training.
Number of multi-year contracts received
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of students educated through field trips
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
K12 students educated through field trips to one of our three educational farms/gardens.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Rooted evolved from a desire to merge the strengths of two vibrant Madison organizations—Center for Resilient Cities and Community GroundWorks—committed to enabling people to grow and thrive in healthy, equitable, and sustainable neighborhoods. We ground our work in collaborations rooted in food, land, and learning.
Ours is a firm commitment to building racial equity and inclusion and dismantling racism in our communities, in our education and food systems, in the environmental movement, and within our organization. This is a path of lifelong learning and commitment to action.
Rooted trains urban farmers and garden educators, while cultivating community through collaboration on Madison, WI's Northside (at our Troy Gardens location) and South Side (at our Badger Rock Neighborhood Center location). We operate Troy Farm, a 4-acre community-supported agriculture farm, and Badger Rock Urban Farm, a 2-acre educational farm, with weekly farmstands at each location. We also provide technical and administrative support to the Gardens Network of Madison and Dane County. rooted is home to the Wisconsin School Garden Network and Wisconsin Farm to Early Care and Education program.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our strategies for achieving our racial equity goals include:
1. Reviewing organization job descriptions to remove unintended barriers to employment based on level of education and experience.
2. Diversify our hires at all staff levels.
3. Create pathways to promotion from within.
4. Recruit and retain a diverse group of board members, including by race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
5% of each employee's FTE is allocated to racial and social capacity building work, including organizational affinity groups (BIPOC, white, white male, and queer groups have formed so far).
A staff-led Change Team has been established to review organizational practices and procedures, to make them more equitable. Team members have a total of 10% FTE allocated to this work. They are also supported in their work with technical assistance from staff from the YWCA of Madison.
Over the winter of 2021, staff participated in multi-session conflict resolution training, led by staff from the YWCA of Madison.
A budget line specific to the racial and social capacity building work has been included in the 2021 and 2022 budgets, over and above the standard professional development funds the organization includes in its budget.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, 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 identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
Financial documents
Download audited financialsRevenue vs. expenses: breakdown
Liquidity in 2022 info
2.99
Months of cash in 2022 info
21.4
Fringe rate in 2022 info
14%
Funding sources info
Assets & liabilities info
Financial data
ROOTED WI, INC.
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
This snapshot of ROOTED WI, INC.’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.
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Business model indicators
| Profitability info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation | $222,667 | -$129,821 | $1,108,864 | -$392,410 | -$275,676 |
| As % of expenses | 31.7% | -25.1% | 77.7% | -26.9% | -17.3% |
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation | $222,667 | -$130,105 | $1,081,545 | -$419,194 | -$307,397 |
| As % of expenses | 31.7% | -25.2% | 74.3% | -28.2% | -18.9% |
| Revenue composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) | $437,569 | $394,836 | $2,689,987 | $971,353 | $1,296,594 |
| Total revenue, % change over prior year | -18.3% | -9.8% | 581.3% | -63.9% | 33.5% |
| Program services revenue | 27.6% | 33.5% | 8.0% | 25.0% | 22.4% |
| Membership dues | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Investment income | 11.5% | 12.6% | 1.6% | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| Government grants | 29.4% | 29.6% | 14.2% | 31.1% | 34.3% |
| All other grants and contributions | 32.0% | 24.3% | 76.2% | 43.7% | 42.3% |
| Other revenue | -0.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.6% |
| Expense composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses before depreciation | $701,812 | $516,392 | $1,427,894 | $1,461,407 | $1,594,260 |
| Total expenses, % change over prior year | 24.7% | -26.4% | 176.5% | 2.3% | 9.1% |
| Personnel | 28.4% | 42.2% | 54.4% | 69.7% | 70.6% |
| Professional fees | 8.8% | 17.2% | 8.3% | 10.9% | 8.2% |
| Occupancy | 7.4% | 9.3% | 3.2% | 6.3% | 7.0% |
| Interest | 9.8% | 13.4% | 6.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Pass-through | 37.9% | 9.1% | 13.2% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| All other expenses | 7.6% | 8.8% | 14.0% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
| Full cost components (estimated) info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses (after depreciation) | $701,812 | $516,676 | $1,455,213 | $1,488,191 | $1,625,981 |
| One month of savings | $58,484 | $43,033 | $118,991 | $121,784 | $132,855 |
| Debt principal payment | $59,702 | $56,717 | $399,426 | $178,616 | $0 |
| Fixed asset additions | $0 | $3,407 | $137,451 | $33,118 | $36,601 |
| Total full costs (estimated) | $819,998 | $619,833 | $2,111,081 | $1,821,709 | $1,795,437 |
Capital structure indicators
| Liquidity info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months of cash | 2.5 | 2.7 | 32.0 | 25.4 | 21.4 |
| Months of cash and investments | 2.5 | 2.7 | 32.0 | 25.4 | 21.4 |
| Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets | 49.2 | 63.8 | 30.5 | 26.3 | 21.8 |
| Balance sheet composition info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $148,862 | $116,863 | $3,805,540 | $3,096,463 | $2,836,787 |
| Investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Receivables | $5,297,454 | $5,216,675 | $166,440 | $162,939 | $98,677 |
| Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) | $88,200 | $116,410 | $251,373 | $284,491 | $313,744 |
| Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) | 0.0% | 21.6% | 19.9% | 27.0% | 32.2% |
| Liabilities (as a % of assets) | 47.5% | 48.5% | 5.6% | 1.5% | 22.8% |
| Unrestricted net assets | $2,877,710 | $2,747,605 | $3,829,150 | $3,409,956 | $3,102,559 |
| Temporarily restricted net assets | $3,029 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Permanently restricted net assets | $88,200 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Total restricted net assets | $91,229 | $116,308 | $243,535 | $169,159 | $132,765 |
| Total net assets | $2,968,939 | $2,863,913 | $4,072,685 | $3,579,115 | $3,235,324 |
Key data checks
| Key data checks info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material data errors | No | No | No | No | No |
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
Co-Executive Director
Hedi Rudd
Hedi Rudd is Co-Executive Director of Rooted. She previously served as Deputy Director of Community Engagement and Badger Rock Neighborhood Center Director. A former community organizer, Hedi served two terms on the City of Madison (WI) Equal Opportunities Commission and was a staff member of the City of Madison Affirmative Action Department, prior to the creation of the Office of Civil Rights. An avid photographer, Hedi is often seen at community events telling the story of communities of color through her lens. Hedi is the 2019 recipient of Forward Community Investments Nan Cheney March for Justice Award. Hedi serves on the Madison Food Policy Council.
Co-Executive Director
Ginny Hughes
Ginny Hughes is Co-Executive Director of Rooted. She has previously served as Rooted’s Deputy Director of Finance and Operations. Before joining the staff in 2012, Ginny earned a master’s degree in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She has over a decade of experience sharing her love of growing vegetables with kids and adults in a variety of settings. When she’s not in the garden, she enjoys yoga and adventuring outdoors with her two sons and husband.
Number of employees
Source: IRS Form 990
ROOTED WI, INC.
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.
ROOTED WI, INC.
Board of directorsas of 11/28/2023
Board of directors data
Joe Sensenbrenner
Former Mayor, City of Madison, WI
Term: 2023 - 2026
Joe Sensenbrenner
Former Mayor, City of Madison, WI
Brigid Elliott-Boger
Partner, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause
Jim Bradley
Former President (retired), Home Savings Bank
Nicholas Hayes
Executive Director, Milwaukee Community Sailing Center
Harold "Hal" Mayer
Retired Vice President Operations, Oscar Mayer/Kraft Foods
Deirdre W. Garton
Attorney (retired)
Mary Ellyn Sensenbrenner
Attorney (retired)
Francesca Hong
WI State Representative
Christopher Kilgour
Founder, Color in the Outdoors
Azure Fudge Hart
Management Analyst, QBE North America
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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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 ? Yes -
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? Yes -
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? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/28/2023GuideStar 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
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- 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.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- 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 help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- 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.
Contractors
Fiscal year endingProfessional fundraisers
Fiscal year endingSOURCE: IRS Form 990 Schedule G
Solicitation activities
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- Letter of Determination
- Officer and/or Employee data for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018
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