Lakes Area Food Shelf

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411715784
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2019
Location
Pequot Lakes, MN, USA
Phone
2185688474
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$833,527
Expenses
$561,624
Assets
$1,596,313
Liabilities
$5,184

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TAMARA LARSEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • TAMARA LARSEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $69,398 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 serve as a trusted community resource by helping our friends and neighbors become hunger free and obtain a healthy lifestyle.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization accepts contributions of money, food and personal care items from area individuals, businesses, clubs, grocery stores and more. The donated money is used to purchase food items which together with the donated items are distributed to households who are under 300% of the the federal guidelines for poverty or have other extenuating financial circumstances. The organization serves the area of central Minnesota with shoppers traveling from many miles to receive food. During year 2024, there were 19,350 visits to the food shelf.the organization works with 13 local produce growers/farmers to grow nutrient-rich produce to distribute to households in need. This distribution of healthy, nutrient-rich food has led local physicians to send their low income patients to the food shelf.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 70% for direct work, and 30% for grants.
  • 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 87.7%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $42.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

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: 99.8%; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 32.6%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.84; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.4%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60% of revenue deployed · 87.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $493K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $69K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.