Feeding the Carolinas

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
273181226
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Clemmons, NC, USA
Phone
3362986604
Rating
91
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies & Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,191,400
Expenses
$17,409,496
Assets
$4,801,591
Liabilities
$3,150,337

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Mike Darrow through May 2025 (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Mike Darrow through May 2025 (Executive Director): $139,621 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 mission of the Organization is to coordinate, support, and advocate for member Food Banks across the Carolinas to create lasting solutions to address hunger.

What it reported doing in 2024

All activities relate to enhancing the ability and efficiency of the food bank members to solicit and distribute food and grocery products for those in need. Our Farm to Food Bank program provided over 46 million pounds of produce to our food banks to distribute to those in need. Feeding the Carolinas coordinated a network-wide response to the largest disaster in our networks history, Hurricane Helene, providing emergency food aid to tens of thousands of Carolinians, as well as funds for rebuilding and recovery to the charitable food network in North and South Carolina.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Member-benefit provider. The nonprofit used 94% of its reported program spending for member benefits.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 98
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.7%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 98.4%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $208.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: -1.3%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.66; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.8%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 25.1% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.9% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23.4% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99.7% of revenue deployed · 98.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $17.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $140K · 12 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $148K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.