Meals on Wheels San Francisco

Legal name: Meals on Wheels of San Francisco Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
941741155
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
San Francisco, California, US
Phone
415.920.1111
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$30,966,341
Expenses
$30,468,988
Assets
$80,740,077
Liabilities
$41,060,247

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JENNIFER STEELE (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JENNIFER STEELE (CEO): $350,269 total reported compensation
  • JESSICA SWEEDLER (CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER): $286,923 total reported compensation
  • DAVID LINNELL (CHIEF FOOD & OPERATIONS OFFICER): $174,731 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 nourish and connect our community by delivering nutritious meals and supportive services to homebound seniors and adults with disabilities.

What it reported doing in 2024

The home-delivered meals program delivers essential meals and services to homebound older adults and adults with disabilities in the bay area, helping combat hunger and isolation and enabling people to live safely and with dignity at home for as long as possible. The program consists of: a home visit and assessment by a trained social service professional or licensed social worker; procurement, preparation, packaging and delivery of nutritious meals to homes; information and referral to other community resources; safety/wellness checks; companionship; nutrition education; and coordination with case managers, family members/caregivers and emergency personnel. The program also provides wraparound services to alleviate loneliness and social isolation and promote safe aging in place.

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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.7%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 84.9%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.6%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.65; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.51; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.5% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 83.7% of revenue deployed · 84.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $25.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $350K · 26 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.