Asheville Poverty Initiative

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
810757744
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Asheville, NC, USA
Phone
8282220393
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Congregate Meals

Reported finances

Revenue
$604,660
Expenses
$412,399
Assets
$686,666
Liabilities
$10,577

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ben Williamson (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ben Williamson (Executive Director): $86,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of Asheville Poverty Initiative is to build community and educate about the realities of poverty.

What it reported doing in 2025

12 Baskets Cafe provided free community meals and grocery distribution rooted in dignity and abundance. In 2025, the cafe served approximately 200 meals per lunch service, totaling more than 40,000 meals. The free grocery store distributed approximately 24,000 bags of groceries annually, while partnerships with local food businesses enabled the program to divert an estimated 180,000 pounds of food each year from landfills and redistribute it to community members. The cafe also hosted mutual aid partners and supportive services that foster community connection and access to resources.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.5%; rating input score 57
  • Program expense ratio: 83%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.93 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 31.8%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.67; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.9%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.4% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 21.6% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.3% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 57.5% of revenue deployed · 83% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $342K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $86K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.