Meals from the Heartland Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 263443290
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2008
- Location
- West Des Moines, IA, USA
- Phone
- 8774576384
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Food Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,537,597
- Expenses
- $3,549,233
- Assets
- $4,003,409
- Liabilities
- $275,484
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- CHUCK CURRENT (EXECUTIVE DI): $91,813 total reported compensation
- GREG DEHAAI RETIRED JANUARY 2025 (PAST EXEC. D): $11,752 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Develop and carry out a comrehensive plan to provide meals to people who cannot support themselves in the united states and the world. The primary functions will be to bring together people from all sectors of society to prepare packaged food packets for distribution to the hungry around the world.
What it reported doing in 2025
Meals from the heartland is committed to its mission of empowering people to save starving children. One half of this mission involves the food that is packaged year around in volunteer events. The other half of this mission is to encourage volunteer service to people of all ages and backgrounds by providing a positive team and community building experience through participation in these events. These events were held at various locations throughout Iowa as well as at our own location. During 2025, approximately 52 thousand volunteers participated in these events and prepared over 21 million meals. Meals are shipped out nationally and internationally by our distribution partners to on-the-ground organizations who are continually assessing and identifying needs of communities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 73% of its reported program spending out as 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 38
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 83.9%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 83.5%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $12.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd 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; 46th 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -0.3%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.13; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 83.9% of revenue deployed · 83.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $92K · 18 people listed
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2012 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 12 filed related-organization links
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.