Food Bank of Central New York

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222816988
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Syracuse, NY, USA
Phone
3154371899
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Food Banks, Pantries

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$47,194,870
Expenses
$47,102,990
Assets
$29,073,035
Liabilities
$1,566,233

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SAL CAMPANINO (FORMER PRESIDENT)
  • IRENE SCRUTON (PRESIDENT)
  • LOUIS DEMENT (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KAREN BELCHER (PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • KAREN BELCHER (PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $196,466 total reported compensation
  • BRIAN MCMANUS (CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER): $164,956 total reported compensation
  • CHERYL ALGER (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $147,333 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Food bank of central New York is a not-for-profit organization: our mission is to lead the effort to eliminate hunger in our region, through partnerships with others in our community, through education, advocacy, and distribution of nutritious food in an eleven-county service area, headquartered in syracuse, ny.

What it reported doing in 2024

Food distribution includes the acquisition and distribution program, food rescue, retail partnership program (rpp), mobile food pantry (mfp), senior nutrition, childnutrition, and healthcare partnerships. Acquisition is composed of nutritious foods purchased through vendors, donations from donors, food drives and grocery partners and food rescue through agricultural, manufacturing and retail partnerships within our service area. These foods are then available for partner agencies to request for pickup/delivery to supplement the foods they already have in stock for distribution to low-income individuals and families within their communities. Food rescue consists of rpp and rescuing food from agricultural, manufacturing and other retail organizations in our eleven-county service area. Rpp collects donated grocery and perishable foods on a daily basis from retail partners within the service area. These foods are then delivered to a partner agency in that area; a system that keeps donations in the area of their origin and allows for produce and dairy items to go from the store shelf to the dinner table of individuals and families within their communities that same day. Mfp is a direct service distribution that works around food access obstacles and areas defined as food deserts. The food bank identifies communities and areas of unmet need and then delivers and distributes highly desirable perishable goods and other food items directly to the individuals and families in these communities. Senior nutrition distributions are a direct service distribution through a collaboration with senior housing communities. This distribution model strives to reduce access barriers by providing safe, no-contact, home deliveries of high quality, nutritious foods specifically for this population. Currently distributing prepacked boxes monthly in partnership with housing communities in eleven-counties at 45 locations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 94
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.9%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 96.1%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: $46.93 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.2%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.62; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.9% of revenue deployed · 96.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $45.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $196K · 24 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $980K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.