Filling in the Blanks Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464980002
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Norwalk, CT, USA
Phone
2037500019
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Emergency Assistance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,213,972
Expenses
$4,204,247
Assets
$6,157,898
Liabilities
$698,295

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHAWNEE KNIGHT (CO-PRESIDENT AND TREASURER)
  • TINA KRAMER (CO-PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY)

People named in this filing

  • SHAWNEE KNIGHT (CO-PRESIDENT AND TREASURER)
  • TINA KRAMER (CO-PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY)
  • DOUGLAS KNIGHT (DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Filling in the blanks ("fitb") aims to fight childhood hunger by providing children in need with meals on the weekends. Fitb strives to strengthen and empower healthy communities by increasing access to healthy food, specifically for low-income children and their families. Fitb fulfills this mission by delivering meals directly to children from low-income families each weekend to bridge the gap when they are not receiving nutrition from their schools, after-school programs, or camps. The expected outcome is to remove one worry from their lives, put them on more equal ground with their food-secure peers, and provide consistent nutritional support.

What it reported doing in 2025

Filling in the blanks addresses childhood hunger through a comprehensive, year-round approach that brings food and essential services directly to children and families in need. We provide easy-to-prepare, non-perishable, and nutritious food every weekend, all year long. Monthly hygiene bags are also provided.our mobile pantry program delivers fresh produce, meat, dairy, and staples directly into neighborhoods, supporting the entire family with healthy, culturally responsive foods.we also partner with organizations to offer on-site health and wellness services.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% 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

SUPPORTED - 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 some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 71
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.9%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 82.8%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $53.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd 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: 60%; rating input score 60; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 19.4%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.46; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 27.6% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.9% of revenue deployed · 82.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 10 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.