Fresno Metropolitan Ministry

What it reported doing in 2024

Fresno Metro Ministry Metro is a multi-cultural, multi-faith community-benefit organization. Our mission is: Learning, connectinG and engaging to achieve healthy people and healthy places. Metro was founded in 1970 by churches moving out of downtown Fresno to address the social, economic, health and safety issues experienced by children and families that remained in our neglected and disinvested neighborhoods. Metro is focused on increasing access and consumption of healthy food, the quality of the built and physical environment, and overall health and economic opportunities for underserved communities. In 2015, we launched Food to Share, a multi-faceted local food systems program focused on healthy food recovery and distribution, access, cooking skills and consumption to directly implement the Fresno General Plan Healthy Communities Element Policies city-wide. Ultimately, this work promotes Food Assistance Awareness, creation of a Food Policy Council through Metro's development of the Fresno Food Security Network, and a full range of Urban Agriculture activities including community gardens, urban farms, and on-site farmers' markets. Better Blackstone was launched in 2015 to address underlying social and community organizational capacity issues while simultaneously promoting physical and economic development. Our strategic approach to Better Blackstone is a layering of activities with multiple themes including resident leadership, food business entrepreneurship, advanced energy systems, multi-mobile streetscapes designs, and urban design for new transit-oriented and affordable housing infill development, among others. Also, for more than two decades Metro has annually produced Making Connections, a comprehensive Community Resource Guide of nearly 400 local and regional social service organizations, city, county and state agencies and CBOs that provide needed supportive services to thousands of community members. Annually, hundreds of organizations and individuals purchase Making Connections and refer to it daily, as they connect those they serve with resources, often as basic as food, shelter and clothing.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 84.6%; rating input score 85
• Program expense ratio: 85.2%; rating input score 85
• Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Limited
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: 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: 0.7%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.79; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.44; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 25.3% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 21.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 24.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings