Food & Friends Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521648941
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2022692277
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
AIDS

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$25,211,252
Expenses
$16,465,398
Assets
$44,329,502
Liabilities
$1,017,532

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

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BILL THORNE (PRESIDENT)
  • JESSICA LERNER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • CARRIE STOLTZFUS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • CARRIE STOLTZFUS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $348,213 total reported compensation
  • GEORGE BEDNAR (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $268,624 total reported compensation
  • CAROLYN SCHMIDT (CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER): $216,641 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 improve the lives and health of people with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other serious illnesses by preparing and delivering (free of charge) specialized meals and groceries, providing nutritional counseling, and reducing social isolation.

What it reported doing in 2024

In fiscal year 2025, food & friends' community dietitians worked one-on-one with seriously ill clients to provide them with medical nutrition therapy, providing: 1,495 nutrition assessments to food & friends' clients living with life-challenging illnesses. This nutrition counseling typically includes a professional evaluation of a client's health status, a diet analysis, and in-depth medical nutrition therapy tailored to each client's needs. These services are also free of charge to recipients, and in tandem with food & friends' meal deliveries, reduce social isolation, improve mental health, and create supportive human bonds. Food & friends cultivates relationships and facilitates a caring community that surrounds its clients in order to provide a positive impact.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 76
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53.5%; rating input score 54
  • Program expense ratio: 79.6%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 34.7%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.69; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.1%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.6% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 53.5% of revenue deployed · 79.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $13.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $348K · 33 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $430K reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.