Fair Food Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461555654
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Detroit, MI, USA
Phone
7342133999
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$108,436
Expenses
$183,277
Assets
$4,492,463
Liabilities
$3,345,970

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATE KRAUSS (CEO)
  • W DEWAYNE WELLS (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATE KRAUSS (CEO): $235,336 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To build a more sustainable food system by making investments in food enterprises that advance healthy food access, job creation, family farm viability, and greater racial and social equity, and do not have sufficient access to traditional financing sources.

What it reported doing in 2024

Fair food fund is an impact capital fund from fair food network that fuels entrepreneurship in the food system by using project-related investment (pri) funds to make loans to and equity investments in businesses that connect farmers with demand for local, sustainably grown food. The program currently encompasses six equity investments and fifteen loans.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 85
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Scored; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 20th 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: -69%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 24.51; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.74; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 128.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $183K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $235K · 4 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 14 of 14 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay and related organizations
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.