The Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County Inc

Overview

Mission

The food bank's mission is to provide nutritious food to non-profit organizations that feed the hungry in darien, greenwich, new canaan, norwalk, stamford and wilton ct., while seeking to raise awareness of, and promote action to combat, hunger in those communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

The food bank has an ongoing program to maintain public awareness of the hunger in lower fairfield county as part of its primary mission. In part, this awareness and education is achieved through presentations to schools and service organizations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
020684220
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Stamford, CT, USA
Phone
2033588898
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Food Banks, Pantries

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.4%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 91.1%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $27.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 18.2%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.12; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.4% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.7% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.4% of revenue deployed · 91.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $105K · 5 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 annual filings from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • KATE LOMBARDO (DIRECTOR (FORMER EXEC DIR)): $105,000 total reported compensation
  • DUNCAN LAWSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $14,837 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.