First Fruit Ministries
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 311742774
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Wilmington, NC, United States
- Phone
- (910) 794-9656
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Protestant
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,272,690
- Expenses
- $2,996,496
- Assets
- $2,092,269
- Liabilities
- $418,919
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- RICK STOKER (CEO)
- LEE ANNA STOKER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
People named in this filing
- RUFFIN BAILEY (DIRECTOR)
- BRADLEY COTTON (TREASURER)
- DALE MILLER (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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
First fruit ministries shares the unconditional love of god through outreach and supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness or trafficking in southeastern north carolina. Homeless client at First Fruit Ministries smiling while eating a meal at a nonprofit event. Rick Stoker, founder and CEO of First Fruit Ministries, speaking with a homeless client at his camp in Wilmington. Timeka Gray, food services coordinator and head chef of First Fruit Ministries, smiling as she organizes the Food Pantry. Volunteer Wilmington mayor and First Fruit Ministries Executive Director handing out food at local Food Pantry. Two women, one donor and one staff member and survivor, hugging at a nonprofit ministry event.
What it reported doing in 2024
For over 20 years, first fruit ministires has offered food, shelter, and friendship with those who live unsheltered in our community and victims of trafficking. There are three types of supportive housing offered: transitional, permanent supportive, and rapid-rehousing. Each sub-population within the homeless community receives their own type of intervention, with specific housing programs for trafficking victims; unsheltered men, women, or families; those in active addiction and those in recovery; etc. Outreach programs go out into the streets to engage those in need and guide them through a process of growth. Outreach services include hot meals and emergency services, full free primary medical care and behavioral health services, case management and peer supportive services, and housing navigation and referrals.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% 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. Some filed totals do not add up and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 51
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84.3%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 92.1%; rating input score 92
- Fundraising efficiency: $123.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: 8.4%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.7; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 16.8% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 16.2% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 84.3% of revenue deployed · 92.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 23 of 24 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- 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.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.