Hearts United for Good Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
465287924
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Charlotte, NC, USA
Phone
7044913321
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$917,877
Expenses
$876,066
Assets
$152,814
Liabilities
$308

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Steven Tilley (Director): $31,500 total reported compensation
  • Bethany McDonald (Executive Dir.): $2,750 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Hearts United for Good (HUG) works to improve the lives of individuals and families facing food insecurity, homelessness, economic hardship, and other challenges throughout the greater Charlotte area. Through direct assistance and community partnerships, HUG provides food, essential supplies, homeless outreach, animal welfare assistance, educational support, and other resources designed to meet immediate needs while promoting dignity, stability, and stronger communities.

What it reported doing in 2025

Food lnsecurity Pantry: Hearts United for Good operates a free, low-barrier Food Assistance Program providing groceries and essential household items to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity and economic hardship. In 2025, HUG distributed 26,068 bags of free groceries, representing a 704% increase in grocery distributions since 2021. At the same time, HUG decreased its cost per bag by 90% and cost per pound by 96%, allowing the organization to significantly expand its reach while using resources efficiently. Through its partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, HUG received more than 486,000 pounds of food and critical supplies in 2025 for less than $13,000. HUG also distributed more than 106,000 free diapers to local families and parents through its partnership with the Diaper Bank of North Carolina. HUG's pantry is designed to minimize barriers to receiving assistance and provide individuals and families with reliable access to nutritious food and other basic necessities. Through food-bank partnerships, individual donors, businesses, volunteers, and community organizations, HUG continued to expand the availability of food and essential resources to vulnerable households throughout the Charlotte area.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.1%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 95.4%; rating input score 95
  • 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 19th 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: 4.6%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.17; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.9%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 33% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.1% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 31.5% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.1% of revenue deployed · 95.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $836K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $32K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.