About
It began with one pool.
Garden Pool is an Arizona nonprofit organization that develops better ways to grow food — and helps others do the same.
Our story
A timeline
Sixteen years of building, teaching, traveling, and documenting.
October 2009
One empty pool
Dennis McClung transforms an unused backyard swimming pool in Mesa, Arizona into a closed-loop food-production ecosystem.
2010
The world notices
The project begins receiving major media attention, including national television coverage.
2012
A nonprofit organization
Garden Pool incorporates as an Arizona nonprofit organization.
2013–2017
Education, research, community
Community education, seed libraries, classes and workshops, research and development, volunteer programs, and the first national and international projects.
2018–2019
International capacity development
Major international capacity-development work, institutional collaborations, the Climate Smart Farm initiative, and international recognition.
September 2026
IRS exemption reinstated
IRS Letter 947, dated September 21, 2026, approves 501(c)(3) reinstatement effective September 10, 2026, the application postmark date. This does not reinstate exemption retroactively to 2012 or cover the entire revocation gap.
Today
Renewal
Garden Pool is being renewed around its original mission: develop better ways to grow food, and help others do the same.
Founder
Dennis McClung
Dennis McClung is the founder of Garden Pool — a designer, educator, sustainable food-system innovator, and international capacity-development practitioner.
In October 2009 he converted an unused backyard swimming pool in Mesa, Arizona into a closed-loop food-production ecosystem, then spent the following years turning that experiment into a documented, teachable method used by builders, schools, farmers, and institutions.
He is designated an IICA Goodwill Ambassador in Sustainable Development.
Garden Pool, however, is more than one person. It is a body of method, a volunteer community, and an institutional record built by many hands.
For donors & partners
IRS 501(c)(3) reinstatement
Garden Pool’s IRS 501(c)(3) tax exemption was reinstated effective September 10, 2026. Contributions from that date are deductible under the IRS determination.
This determination does not reinstate exemption retroactively to 2012 or cover the entire revocation gap.
- Organization
- GARDEN POOL
- EIN
- 46-0804288
- Reinstatement determination
- Letter 947 · September 21, 2026
- Approval
- REINSTATEMENT under Revenue Procedure 2014-11
- Reinstatement effective
- September 10, 2026 · Application postmark date
- Original recognition letter
- Dated July 18, 2014 · Exemption effective July 6, 2012
- Public charity
- Section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)
Garden Pool must file an annual Form 990 / Form 990-EZ / Form 990-N as applicable. Its Arizona nonprofit founding in 2012 predates the federal exemption dates shown above.
IRS determination letters
Reinstatement · September 21, 2026
Download IRS 501(c)(3) Reinstatement Determination Letter (PDF)Original recognition · July 18, 2014
Download IRS 501(c)(3) Original Letter of Recognition (PDF)Today
A renewal of the original mission
Garden Pool is being renewed around the purpose it started with: develop better ways to grow food, and help others do the same. The next chapter continues the work of designing, teaching, and sharing — with the same insistence on practicality that started in a Mesa backyard.