18 Reasons

What it reported doing in 2024

Our Cooking Matters program offers free cooking and nutrition classes to low-income adults, children, and families. Each series of classes meet once a week for six weeks. Each class is two hours long, and is taught by a team consisting of a chef, a nutrition instructor, and a class assistant. We seek out volunteers with skills in cooking and nutrition to teach these classes, and we also train and employ graduates of our Cooking Matters as peer health educators to fill these roles. Cooking Matters classes are held at locations that offer other services to low-income families, such as shelters, schools, clinics, community centers, and subsidized housing sites. These agencies and organizations recruit participants for the classes, and we bring the instructors, food, curricula, and cooking equipment. At the end of each six-week series, we conduct an evaluation that measures positive behavior changes including increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, and an increased use of nutrition skills and knowledge when making decisions about food. In 2021, we conducted 86 six-week series of classes, taught by approximately 300 volunteers and 18 peer health educators, at 51 different locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, reaching over 2,000 people. Each Cooking Matters graduate takes a validated test at the beginning and end of their series to measure their food insecurity score and their behaviors and attitudes related to healthy eating. 18 Reasons effects all of the below changes in participants' lives in only 6 weeks. In our most recent data, our graduates report increased consumption of healthy foods, with 74% of graduates eating more vegetables, 78% eating more fruit, and 88% are prepping healthy meals more often at home. Graduates report a 52% decrease in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and an 85% increase in drinking water. Graduates are able to access more healthy food by learning to stretch their food dollars; 68% plan meals ahead of time and shop with a grocery list more often to save money at the store, 97% use the nutrition facts label more often, and 74% feel they can afford to buy more fruits and vegetables with their existing food budget as a result of the shopping skills we teach. Food insecurity in the Bay Area drops by 1% each year as the wealth in our area grows, whereas 18 Reasons is able to reduce food insecurity among our low-income participants by 12% in just 6 weeks because of the food resource management skills we teach. In 2021, we distributed over 25,000 pounds of groceries through our Cooking Matters classes, and we are on track to significantly increase that number with each year that passes. We receive about 5 new partner applications for Cooking Matters each month, meaning that demand for our programs is high. We are glad to be a local leader in food education, and the demand for our services shows us we are offering the community programs they want. Our data show us we are offering evidence-based programs proven to create lasting behavior change.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 71.2%; rating input score 71
• Program expense ratio: 84.3%; rating input score 84
• Fundraising efficiency: $8.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 82.4%; rating input score 82; 15th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 15.7%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 13.7%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 18% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 20.1% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings