Chatham Outreach Alliance Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561668767
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Pittsboro, NC, USA
Phone
9195425020
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,305,405
Expenses
$3,545,562
Assets
$4,057,358
Liabilities
$50,102

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SUZEN BRIA (PRESIDENT)
  • CINDI EBERT (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MELISSA BEARD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MELISSA BEARD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $129,928 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Cora is a nonprofit working to end hunger by providing nutritious food through its choice pantries, mobile markets, and seasonal programs for kids. Cora supports low- and moderate-income residents with dignity and care. Last year, cora distributed 1.9 million meals to nearly 13,000 individuals.

What it reported doing in 2024

Corapacks provides food to children who depend on free or reduced-cost meals at school but need access to nutrition during weekends and breaks. From september through may, each enrolled student receives a monthly food box delivered to their home. Each child receives three meals, two snacks, and milk for the days they are not in school. During the 2024/2025 school year, cora provided food to 170 children.delivery: cora offers delivery to local seniors who lack transportation. In 2024/2025, cora provided delivery of groceries and csfp (commoditysupplemental food program) boxes to 185 people monthly.other: food insecurity can be defined as limited or uncertain access tonutritious food because of a lack of resources. Many families do nothave the financial resources they need to meet the competing demands we all face including payments for food, housing, medical care and other household necessities which increases their risk for food insecurity. Families may experience food insecurity for a day, a week, a few months or more as their resources come and go.to address this serious issue, the cora food pantry provided the equivalent of approximately 1,900,000 meals to over 12,600 individuals across chatham county during the past fiscal year.

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 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.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.7%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 89%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $29.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th 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; 63rd 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: 17.6%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.14; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.7% of revenue deployed · 89% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $130K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.