Backpack Buddies of Metro Atlanta Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
880684867
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Dunwoody, GA, USA
Phone
4044654050
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,068,718
Expenses
$731,708
Assets
$1,306,950
Liabilities
$137,597

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DENISE BJURHOLM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • TERRI BAGEN (BOARD CHAIRWOMAN)
  • DEBBIE SONENSHINE (SECRETARY)
  • ELEANOR FLANAGAN (TREASURER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To provide weekend meals to food-insecure children in metro atlanta and to enhance their physical and mental health as well their ability to learn

What it reported doing in 2025

Provided weekend meals to food-insecure children in metro atlanta to enhance their mental and physical health as well as their ability to learn. Bpbma serves over 2,500 children each weekend and plans to increase that number each weekend in the next two yearsmore than 200,000 children in metro atlanta are food-insecure, at risk of hunger due to unpredictable access to meals. During the week, most receive breakfast and lunch at school at little or no cost, a lifeline for food-insecure children. But for some, the school lunch on friday is the last good meal they will get until they return to school on monday. For tens of thousands of at-risk children in metro atlanta, saturday and sunday are days of hunger. Backpack buddies of metro atlanta is working to change this reality for children and families by providing healthy weekend meals through our weekend feeding program. During the 2024/2025 school year, backpack buddies provided over 570,000 nutritious meals to 2,500 kids in 50 title 1 schools in metro atlanta. To learn more, visit www.backpackbuddiesatl.org.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.2%; rating input score 57
  • Program expense ratio: 83.2%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $49.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 27th 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: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 31.5%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.79; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.3% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 46.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 57.2% of revenue deployed · 83.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $609K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.