Harvest Hope Food Bank

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
570725560
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2023
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Columbia, SC, US
Phone
803-254-4432
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Food Banks, Pantries

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$50,485,913
Expenses
$48,226,188
Assets
$30,355,286
Liabilities
$6,402,829

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ERINN ROWE (CEO)
  • ZEBULON YOUNG (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JIMMY SCOTT (VICE PRESIDENT PHILANTHROPY)
  • TRENTON MCCLURE (VICE PRESIDENT PHILANTHROPY)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERINN ROWE (CEO): $207,676 total reported compensation
  • ZEBULON YOUNG (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT): $133,178 total reported compensation
  • CYNTHIA SIMPSON (VP OF FINANCE): $129,285 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To build a hunger-free tomorrow by feeding our neighbors in need and addressing food insecurity.

What it reported doing in 2023

Backpack and cfsp programs: the harvest hope food bank's backpack program is a crucial initiative focused on providing weekend meals to children facing hunger in South Carolina. Recognizing that many children rely on school meals as their primary source of nutrition, this program aims to bridge the gap during weekends and school breaks when these resources are unavailable. The program directly tackles the issue of food insecurity that many children experience when they are not in school. It ensures that these vulnerable children have access to nutritious food throughout the weekend. Harvest hope's backpack program acts as a vital safety net, providing essential weekend nutrition to children who might otherwise go hungry, thereby supporting their well-being and development. The harvest hope food bank participates in the commodity supplemental food program (csfp), a federal nutrition program administered by the u.s. Department of agriculture (usda). This program is specifically designed to improve the health of low-income individuals who are at least 60 years of age by supplementing their diets with nutritious usda foods.in addition to providing food, the csfp program through harvest hope may also offer valuable nutrition information to help seniors make informed choices about their health and well-being. The csfp program administered by harvest hope plays a vital role in addressing food insecurity among low-income seniors in South Carolina, helping them access nutritious food to maintain their health and overall well-being.

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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 97.4%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: $90.63 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • 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; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.5%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.63; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.2% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 4 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 93% of revenue deployed · 97.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $47M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $208K · 15 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.