Caja Solidaria Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
873887309
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Mills River, NC, USA
Phone
8282909717
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nutrition

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,083,432
Expenses
$2,488,157
Assets
$808,391
Liabilities
$26,635

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Sonya Jones (Departing Executive Director)
  • Christina Schnabel (Co-Executive Director)
  • Maria Harding (Co-Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Christina Schnabel (Co-Executive Director): $77,708 total reported compensation
  • Maria Harding (Co-Executive Director): $60,928 total reported compensation
  • Sonya Jones (Departing Executive Director): $16,428 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We envision a future where healthy, local foods bring us together as a community of care. Our mission is to ensure everyone has access to the abundance that the Southern Appalachian Mountains offer.

What it reported doing in 2024

Caja Solidarias primary 2024 program delivered Healthy Food Prescriptions through North Carolinas Healthy Opportunities Pilot. The service addressed key population- health nutrition needs by increasing access to fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and by providing healthier alternatives to highly processed foods, meats, and oils. Participants received weekly, free-choice prescriptions through mobile and pop-up markets staffed by trained community health workers offering trauma-informed support. Each household selected foods that met their familys preferences and needs for the week. In 2024, we served more than 375 families with over 13,000 prescriptions and invested approximately $1.5 million in local farms and food businesses.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 83% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 93%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $25.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 65; 65th 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: 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; 63rd 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: 19.3%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.32; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.2%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 87.6% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 87% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 83.9% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75% of revenue deployed · 93% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $78K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.