The Backpack Project
Legal name: Backpack Project Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 474511944
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2021–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2016
- Location
- Dunwoody, GA, USA
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Homeless Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $126,176
- Expenses
- $108,328
- Assets
- $77,749
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
People named in this filing
- Ben Limbocker (Chief Financial Officer)
- Marigny Risey (Chief Financial Officer)
- Leila Smith (Chief Financial Officer)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Easing the burden of homelessness, one backpack at a time.
What it reported doing in 2024
The Backpack Project Inc packs and delivers essential supplies to the homeless in the Southeast. In 2023 we distributed supplies worth $62692.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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 available resources goes toward mission work. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 75.6%; rating input score 76
- Program expense ratio: 88%; rating input score 88
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 14.1%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -9.6% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -5.2% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -9% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 8 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 75.6% of revenue deployed · 88% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 2 filed program accomplishments · $95K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.