Civil Eats

What it reported doing in 2024

Since 2009, Civil Eats, an independent, nonprofit digital news site about the American food system, has focused on high-quality, original journalism which breaks news, educates leaders and policymakers, and serves as a resource for broader mainstream media. Civil Eats brings a clear and compelling voice to a complex range of issues. Our 16 years of reporting experience has shown that complicated and often underreported stories on climate, the environment, social justice, and on policy issues such as health and nutrition, are all made more accessible to a mainstream audience through our nuanced, solutions-oriented reporting. For the first four years, Civil Eats operated with no funding and as a labor of love. Today, Civil Eats has achieved significant impact and reach: It raised an unprecedented $100,000 via Kickstarter in 2013, was named Publication of the Year in 2014 by the James Beard Foundation, inducted into the Library of Congress in 2019, and has been honored with many more awards and accolades. Civil Eats has reported on some of the most important food and agriculture stories of our time. Unique in the media landscape, food justice has been central to its reporting since its inception. Civil Eats collaborates with high-profile print and online publications, and these partnerships bring Civil Eats important stories to millions of new readers, expanding the dialogue on economic and social justice. The site is on the regular reading lists of policymakers in D.C. and grassroots leaders alike, and its stories appear in daily news roundups, and are shared on social media by elected officials. In 2024, the Civil Eats team of editors and staff reporters produced more than 150 original stories alongside 65 freelance reporters. The team strove to emphasize quality over quantity again and published fewer overall stories and fewer reprints from other publications. As a result, Civil Eats was nominated and awarded for more awards than ever before. Civil Eats won a 2024 Excellence in Newsletters, Single Newsletter for its members-only newsletter, The Deep Dish, from the Online News Association. ONA, whose global prizes honor excellence in digital journalism, also nominated Civil Eats as a finalist for General Excellence in Online Journalism (micro newsroom) for the second year in a row. Civil Eats received four awards from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Former Contributing Editor Lee van der Voo won in the Business, Including Marketing category for reporting on the abusive and, in some cases, deadly working conditions of marine observers in the tuna industry. Contributor Alice Driver received the Donald Robinson Memorial Award for Investigative Journalism for her reporting on the Honduran spiny lobster industry, which we included in our 2023 investigative series Walanthropy. Former Senior Reporter Wesley Brown won in the Social Change category for his story on the historically systemic racism behind the USDAs lack of financial support for Black farmers. Contributor Daniel Walton won an honorable mention in the Food & Drink category for his story about farmers who see untapped potential in wild tree crops like acorn and black walnut. Senior Staff Reporter and Contributing Editor Lisa Held and Contributor Ciara OBrien were finalists in the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists 2024 Dateline Awards in the Online, Non-Breaking News category for their reporting on virtual fences and a new Lidl supermarket, respectively. Photojournalist Jake Price was a finalist in the Online Photography category for his photo essay on DC Central Kitchens efforts to fight summer hunger in the nations capital. Former Staff Reporter Grey Moran won first place for print features from SPJs Louisiana chapter for their reporting on the challenges U.S. shrimpers endure in the face of cheap imports. Held, Contributor Alice Driver, and Contributor Aaron Van Neste were nominated for a James Beard Foundation Media Awar

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 78.1%; rating input score 78
• Program expense ratio: 73.3%; rating input score 73
• Fundraising efficiency: $7.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 19th 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: -5.2%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.39; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 35.2%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 17.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -8% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings