CCOF 2023 Impact Report

2023

CCOF Impact Report

www.ccof.org

Dear CCOF Members and Supporters, Congratulations on 50 years of advancing organic agriculture for a healthy world!

CCOF started as a humble, grassroots organization in the early 1970s. Organized by regional chapters, local farmers would gather to set standards, review materials, and inspect each other’s operations.

In the early days, organic farmers couldn’t count on traditional agricultural resources for information, funding, and support. Instead, organic producers gathered at regional CCOF chapter meetings to exchange information, and they created their own grant and education programs to support the organic community. They also advocated for organic regulations, policies, and funding.

From the very beginning, CCOF worked to advance organic agriculture from all angles – pooling resources, expertise, and passion to build strong and resilient organic food systems.

Today, CCOF continues to advance organic agriculture for a healthy world through certification, education, advocacy, and promotion. Separate CCOF entities work in partnership to protect organic integrity and support organic producers. This unique structure ensures the utmost impartiality in managing certification programs while also maximizing resources for the organic community and uplifting the voice of the organic producer.

CCOF Certification Services, LLC now certifies over 4,400 diverse operations throughout North America. We have expanded our certification programs to include food safety, regenerative organic certification, and OCal cannabis certification because we know our clients benefit from reliable, accessible services and expert inspectors who understand their organic systems.

CCOF legacy farmers founded the CCOF Foundation as a separate nonprofit organization to support farmers experiencing hardship and to help train the next generation of organic professionals. They started the Foundation with a modest $300,000 investment, and in 2023 alone, the CCOF Foundation granted over $1 million dollars to aspiring and struggling organic producers, with significant funds directed to organic dairy farmers who have been managing through crises caused by drought.

CCOF, Inc. continues to operate as our umbrella organization. It provides critical, cost-effective infrastructure services like Information Technology, Human Resources, and Operations to CCOF Certification Services and the CCOF Foundation. CCOF, Inc. also continues our rich history of organic advocacy in California while also working in partnership with other organic advocacy organizations to advance federal priorities. We are also expanding our consumer education and market development programs.

50 years ago, people were skeptical that organic would be anything but a small, niche specialty category. Today, organic is nearly $70 billion dollars of the U.S. food economy because American shoppers know that they can count on the USDA organic seal, and they value the principles that started this movement.

It is CCOF’s privilege to continue to advance organic agriculture for a healthy world and remain rooted in our core values of integrity, courage, community, and representation of and for organic producers. Here’s to the next 50 years and beyond!

In partnership,

Kelly Damewood CCOF, Inc. CEO

How We Do Our Work 01. CCOF, Inc. A member-based nonprofit organization that provides critical infrastructure support to CCOF Certification Services and the CCOF Foundation while also investing in advocacy, consumer education, and market development.

03. CCOF OCal Certification Services, LLC A nonprofit certification agency that offers certification of legally produced cannabis to California standards that mirror the National Organic Program standards.

All CCOF entities undergo a third-party audit annually. Due to the timing of this publication, the financial data in this report represents preaudited numbers.

02. CCOF Certification Services, LLC. A nonprofit organic certification agency that provides personable, accessible certification services to organic producers throughout North America. Other services include GLOBALGAP, Primus GS, Regenerative Organic Certification® , and Organic Plus Trust (OPT) Grass Fed.

04. CCOF Foundation A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on helping producers go and stay organic. The CCOF Foundation unites the organic community by offering intentional education, financial support, and growth opportunities for organic professionals.

Certification Services CCOF Certification Services, LLC provides personable and accessible certification services to growers, ranchers, handlers, retailers, brokers, importers, and restaurants across North America.

Processed 339 new handler applications - a record-breaking number!

Certified over 4,400 diverse growers, ranchers, handlers, retailers, and restaurants across North America.

Conducted 6,213 organic inspections.

Received "Investing in Integrity" Data Quality Award from USDA National Organic Program.

Certification Services Achievements

Trained over 20 food safety professionals to the Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standards.

Certified 81 clients to Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC).

Offered new GLOBALGAP certification sub-scopes - Hops and Plant Propagation Material.

Educated over 112,000 stakeholders about Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) through informational videos, flyers, and guides.

Introducing the Financial Assistance Program!

CCOF Certification Services is now offering financial assistance to producers who need support with the cost of certification. Eligible operations include: • Underserved Producers in the United States • Limited Resource Operations in Mexico • Hardship – Declared Emergency • Previously Incarcerated Individuals • 100% Female or Nonbinary Owned • Schools/Nonprofits • Veterans For more information and an application, scan the QR code, or click here.

Certification Financials Certification Services Revenue: $19,187,077 $136,366 $4,466,123

$14,584,588

Grants, Training, and Other Income Inspection

Certification

Certification Services Expense: $19,506,150 Certification

$8,986,779 $6,964,397

$3,554,974

Operations & General

Inspection

What our clients are saying ”Each auditor is a human, and it takes time to bring them up to speed on your operation.

Having one auditor for multiple inspections greatly cuts down the time it takes to do that.”

- Vernon Peterson (Abundant Harvest Organics) on CCOF’s Food Safety program

“I thank [CCOF Senior International Technical Specialist] Jessie Nichols for her patience with me; she knew how to guide me and explain the process to me until the end.”

- Crown Jewels Produce Company, CCOF certified handler

CCOF Certification Services offers bilingual assistance to reach clients in their preferred language.

“Being a farm owner, as a Latino, there’s not much translation in a lot of things...There’s been some improvements...to be able to communicate, since CCOF has people and personnel that speak Spanish.”

- Crystal Salazar, Salazar Organic Farms “Gracias a CCOF por hacernos el trabajo más fácil.”

(Thank you to CCOF for making our job easier.)

- Alejandro Salazar, Salazar Organic Farms

“We were handling a number of components...Throughout it all, CCOF reps were unbelievably patient, helpful and understanding. I can't say enough positive things about each and every person that I dealt with!”

- NibMor, Inc., CCOF certified handler

Alejandro Salazar and his daughter, Fatima Salazar

OCal Certification

CCOF OCal Certification Services, LLC (CCOF OCAL) serves California licensed commercial cannabis operations with a comparable-to-organic California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) program. OCal certification ensures cannabis operations meet standards that are consistent with the National Organic Program.

OCal Certification Services, LLC Revenue: $50,295 $12,460

Inspection

$355

Other

$37,480

Certification

OCal Certification Services, LLC Expenses: $74,984 Inspection

Operations & General

Certification

$6,053

$32,288

$36,643

What people are saying about OCal Wesley Miller, True Mom & Pop, OCal certified grower "I wanted something on our packaging that would set the consumer at ease, much like the organic stamp in food stores.”

Divinity Vaca, OCal product customer “My fear is consuming products that have harsh chemicals and things I don't feel comfortable putting in my body. With the OCal certification, it brings me peace of mind.”

CCOF Foundation Programs & Grants

In 2023, the CCOF Foundation granted a record amount of funding for organic producers with $125,000 in funding to Future Organic Farmers, $200,000 in funding to farmers transitioning to organic and $705,000 granted to farmers in crisis.

Granted over $1M to 89 aspiring and struggling organic producers.

Helped 9 organic dairy producers stay in business despite the supply chain and inflation challenges impacting dairy producers across the country.

Supported 62 organic technical assistance and community building events throughout the Western/Southwestern region, reaching 11,113 producers and service providers.

CCOF Foundation Achievments

Contracted with 36 nonprofit organizations and educational institutions across 7 states to implement the USDA’s Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP).

Provided almost 200 hours of technical assistance to 60 producers in their preferred language of English or Spanish.

Coordinated with 6 TOPP leads across the country to develop national funding, technical assistance, and mentorship programs for producers transitioning to organic production.

Introducing the CCOF Endowment!

Planting the seeds for a future where organic is the norm.

The CCOF Foundation is launching a bold and ambitious initiative to establish a 10-million-dollar endowment to support farmers in going and staying organic!

Guided by the wisdom of our farming roots, the CCOF Foundation unites the organic community to advance organic agriculture. We offer intentional education, financial support, and growth opportunities for organic professionals.

Becky Blythe, one of the most tenured staff at CCOF, chose to carry forward that passion when she bequeathed funds to the CCOF Foundation as seed money to grow our new CCOF Endowment which will support current and future organic producers in going and staying organic - in perpetuity.

Our goal is $10 million. Let’s reach it together!

A legacy gift is your chance to ensure that your donation has lasting impact into the future.

Gifts can be made through: Donor Advised Funds Gifts of Stock Launching a fundraising effort at your store or online Check or cash Bequests Multi-year commitments Your legacy gift is a solution to climate change and environmental well-being while addressing public health and socioeconomic inequities.

The CCOF Endowment supports: Resources for farmers transitioning to organic Organic-focused trainings and workshops Financial assistance for organic producers Scholarships for the next generation of organic producers Contact CCOF Development Director Willow Aray at waray@ccof.org with questions or interest.

Foundation Financials CCOF Foundation Revenue by Source: $3,707,797 $291,691

CCOF, Inc Donation

$1,781,376

Contracts/ Earned Income

$60,901

Individual Donations

Government $916,374 Grants

Foundation & Other $491,976 Grants

Corporate Donations

$165,479

CCOF Foundation Total Expenses by Program: $3,661,120 $390,490

Administration/ Unrestricted

$103,589

Educational Programs

Hardship Assistance $824,327

Future Organic $206,568 Farmer

Organic Transition USDA Transitioning to

$1,723,384 Organic Partnership Program

$412,761

USDA Transition to Organic Partnership Program The CCOF Foundation is proud to serve as the West/Southwestern Lead for the USDA Transition to Organic Partnership Program. In 2023, we distributed over $1.2M in sub-contracts to 36 nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. This funding built and expanded organic technical assistance, mentorship, and community building programs from Texas to Hawaii.

Arizona

California

Hawaii

Nevada

New Mexico

Cross Regional

Texas

Utah

Meet a CCOF Foundation Grantee Connection is the heartbeat of Angie Oliva’s organic journey. “The ‘food is medicine’ mantra is very important,” she says, “along with the revitalization of small farm businesses through America. When I look at the needs of our nation, I notice how we’re connected to food. It’s those things that drive me to be a part of organic farming."

Oliva’s first memories are of growing up in a small, agrarian village in Guanajuato, Mexico. After finishing her morning chores, she’d spend her days getting lost among cornfield stalks, exploring the surrounding ecosystem, before joining her family for meals.

Meals were prepared by the women in her community, since the men worked in the fields planting and harvesting, and Oliva would help deliver food to the farmworkers on a wagon pulled by the family donkey.

Angie Oliva CCOF Foundation Future Organic Farmers Grantee

Although she spent nearly 22 years serving as an active-duty soldier and specializing in intelligence analysis, it was her early agrarian experience that called Oliva back into organic farming. “We are one generation removed from agriculture being our primary means of sustainment. I think that mirrors a lot of American families who leave their homeland and agrarian lifestyle. I think that in that sense, I probably share that with a lot of first-generation Americans.”

Oliva recognizes that organic practices are traditions rooted in Indigenous land stewardship that go back thousands of years. The CCOF Foundation’s Future Organic Farmer grant allows Oliva to honor her ancestors while advancing her vision of owning her own farm someday.

After recently graduating from Central Carolina Community College, she now plans to run her farm, providing vegetables, eggs, and meat to her local community.

CCOF, Inc.

Infrastructure, Consumer Education, & Advocacy CCOF, Inc. is a member-based organization made up of CCOF-certified producers who control its bylaws and elect representatives to the Board of Directors. CCOF, Inc. provides cost-effective infrastructure for other CCOF entities while also advancing organic advocacy, consumer education, and market development.

Created new California climate targets to transition 10% of farmland to organic by 2030.

Secured $10 million for California’s Organic Transition Program.

Advocacy & Hosted 100 CCOF members Member Services and supporters at our 50th anniversary celebration.

Achievements

Connected over 100 organic farmers and producers through regional CCOF Chapter meetings.

Expanded California’s emergency relief program to include flooding assistance.

Engaged 150 CCOF members to create a new area of advocacy work focused on labor.

CCOF, Inc. Financials CCOF, Inc Revenue: $5,840,112 Merchandise

$26,123 $152,694

CCOF Foundation Services Fee

$13,118

CCOF OCal Certification Services Fee

CCOF, Inc Expenses: $5,300,733

$3,302,460

Services, Operations, and General

Other

$543,572

CCOF Certification Services Fees

$5,104,605

Marketing Services & Outreach

$1,133,284

Cost of Merchandise

$23,286

Advocacy, Member Services, and Chapters

$550,011

CCOF Foundation Education & Grant Programs $291,692

CCOF, Inc. donates 2% of certification revenue back into the community via the CCOF Foundation. In 2023, this contribution of $291,692 allowed the Foundation to raise an additional $3,416,105 to fund organic transition programs, scholarships, and hardship assistance!

50 years of CCOF! 2023 marked CCOF’s 50-year anniversary!

We celebrated our anniversary under the warm sun at CCOF Certified Sonoma Hills Farm, recognizing and appreciating the farmers, ranchers, processors, retailers, consumers, and policymakers that form our organic family today. Together, we work to realize a future where organic is the norm.

Thank you to all the longtime CCOF visionaries and leaders who have stewarded our mission to realize a world where organic is the norm.

What Our Volunteer Board Members Are Saying ”Sometimes you’re so isolated as a farmer, it’s great to have that camaraderie of other people going through similar struggles, rewards, and achievements to share it all with. Both my wife and I have strong principles, and everyone we’ve met and interacted with at CCOF genuinely cares about what they’re doing. They believe in the mission and put their money where their mouth is. They’re not just speaking to stuff, but actually advocating for real change.”

“I’m not just serving on a board that isn’t doing anything. I’m actually affecting change by doing it. That’s why I’m proud of serving on the CCOF board.”

-Justin Miller, Twin Peaks Orchard (2024 Board Member, Sierra Gold Chapter)

“I feel like I carry the weight of responsibility for the generations that farmed before there was any distinction between ‘conventional’ and ‘organic.’ I would like to do right by the memory of those farmers and stewards of the land.”

- Genevieve Albers, Traditional Medicinals, Inc., North Coast Chapter

“As a certified client for 15 years, I really want to stress that CCOF has been my education. I don’t think I’ve ever had a negative experience with a single staff member in 15 years. Every single staff member I’ve dealt with has helped me learn and grow in my roles. Now as a board member, I feel like part of the family and that’s a true honor.”

- Nickie Salyer, Lundberg Family Farms, Processor/Handler Chapter

CCOF Board and Executives 2023 CCOF, Inc. Board of Directors Phil LaRocca, Chair, LaRocca Vineyards, North Valley Chapter Malcolm Ricci, Vice Chair, Bolthouse Farms, Kern Chapter Thaddeus Barsotti, Treasurer, Capay Organic and Farm Fresh to You, Yolo Chapter Ted Vivatson, Secretary, Eel River Brewing, Humboldt-Trinity-Mendocino Chapter Genevieve Albers, Traditional Medicinals, North Coast Chapter Steven Cardoza, Cardoza and Cardoza Farms, Fresno-Tulare Chapter JoAnn Cherry, MAHA Estate Wine/Villa Creek Cellars, San Luis Obispo Chapter Chad Crivelli, Live Oak Dairy, (BV), Live Oak Dairy, Big Valley Chapter Andrea Davis-Cetina, Quarter Acre Farm, At-Large Chapter Rich Ferreira, Side Hill Citrus, Sierra Gold Chapter Esteban Macias Padilla, Grupo U, México Chapter Liz Niles, Wise Ranch, South Coast Chapter Lily Nugent, Coke Farm, Central Coast Chapter Nickie Salyer, Lundberg Family Farms, Processor/Handler Chapter Robin Taylor, Sun Grown Organics, Pacific SW Chapter

CCOF Certification Services, LLC Management Committee Members are not clients and must maintain impartiality in all decisions.

CCOF Foundation Board of Trustees Kelly Damewood, Chair, CCOF, Inc. Phil LaRocca, Vice Chair, LaRocca

Kelly Damewood, Chair, CCOF, Inc.

Vineyards

Gina Colfer, Wilbur Ellis

Jess Newman, McCain Foods

Charles Fowler, Fowler Ranch

Ted Vivatson, Eel River Brewing

Tom Willey, T&D Willey Farms

John McKeon, Taylor Farms

Janning Kennedy, Retired Certification Professional

Janaki Anagha, 11th Hour Project Genevieve Albers, Traditional Medicinals

Staff Executives Kelly Damewood, Chief Executive Officer, CCOF, Inc. Felipe Sandoval, Chief Financial Officer, CCOF, Inc. April Vasquez, Chief Certification Officer/Chief Operations Officer, CCOF Certification Services, LLC Jessy Beckett Parr, Chief Program Officer, CCOF Foundation

Thank you to our 2023 CCOF Foundation donors for supporting organic!

Founding Partners

Investors

Visionaries

Champions CCOF Processor/Handler Chapter General Mills Joe Edmonds and Linda Smith Family Fund Organic Produce Network Patagonia Sunview Vineyards of California Tanimura & Antle Taylor Farms & Earthbound Farm

Advocates

Friends

Anaerobe Systems Ancient Nutrition Bolthouse Farms CCOF Fresno-Tulare Chapter Chino Valley Ranchers Erewhon Market Farm Credit Front Porch Farm Gaia Fund Independent Natural Food Retailers Association (INFRA) Lundberg Family Farms Argus Media Oregon State University Food Innovation Center Spottswoode Estate Vineyard True Organic Products Whole Foods Market

AgroThrive, Inc. Bejo Seeds, Inc. CCOF Central Coast (CC) Chapter CCOF North Valley (NV) Chapter CCOF Pacific Southwest (PS) Chapter Farmer and the Cook Feed Earth Now & Terreplenish Fidelity Charitable Good Earth Natural Foods Green Hope Vodka Hanson Family Charitable Fund Heath & Lejeune Lakeside Organic Gardens Organic Farms Fertilizers RAW FARM, LLC Seed Dynamics Sheppard Mullin Soil Health Lab SunRidge Farms Taylor Brothers Farms Traditional Medicinals Vitalis Organic Seeds

CCOF

2155 Delaware Avenue, Suite 150 Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (831) 423-2263 · fax (831) 423-4528 ccof@ccof.org · www.ccof.org

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Permit #262 Santa Cruz, CA

You can cultivate an organic world.

Help fund the CCOF Foundation programs in perpetuity.

Donate to our endowment fund today using the enclosed envelope or online by visiting www.ccof.org/donate.