Ballard Food Bank

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911428805
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2067897800
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,321,514
Expenses
$17,141,896
Assets
$18,393,870
Liabilities
$418,536

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JENNIFER LAMSON (PRESIDENT)
  • HSIAO-CHING CHOU (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • KATHLEEN OWENS (DIRECTOR (PAST-PRESIDENT))
  • CARRIE SCHNEIDER (DIRECTOR (PAST-PRESIDENT))
  • JEN MUZIA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JEN MUZIA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $215,546 total reported compensation
  • COLLEEN MARTINSON (DIR. OF DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNICATIONS): $151,431 total reported compensation
  • KATHLEEN MURPHY (DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS): $141,053 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The ballard food bank's mission is to bring food and hope to our neighbors... Because there can be enough for everyone.

What it reported doing in 2024

Food distribution - the food bank, which operates like a community market, distributes healthy and culturally appropriate food to individuals and families requiring food assistance throughout seattle. For its home delivery and weekend food for kids programs, the organization services eight seattle zip codes in the neighborhoods of ballard, magnolia, queen anne, south lake union, fremont, phinney ridge, greenwood, greenlake, and licton springs. The food bank and home delivery programs distributed more than 5.08 million pounds of food, through approximately 127,212 visits and deliveries, over the course of the year. The organization's kindness cafe provided 148,478 meals in its third year. The weekend food for kids program provided approximately 25,363 bags of food to approximately 778 students in the seattle area. The organization continues to experience increased numbers with many still recovering from the pandemic. Demand has also increased due to a reduction in snap benefits and inflation. Ballard food bank has 857 active volunteers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 78% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.4%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 91.1%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $22.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 1%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.07; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.2% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.4% of revenue deployed · 91.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $15.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $216K · 17 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 38/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.