Northeast Iowa Food Bank

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
421169648
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Waterloo, IA, USA
Phone
3192350507
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Food Banks, Pantries

Reported finances

Revenue
$25,241,383
Expenses
$23,150,271
Assets
$16,878,253
Liabilities
$1,193,882

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BARBARA PRATHER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • BARBARA PRATHER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $141,329 total reported compensation
  • ASHLEY CHRISTENSEN (DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION): $34,226 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 provide nutritious food and grocery products to nonprofit organizations and individuals in northeast Iowa, while offering hunger education programs to the community and those in need.

What it reported doing in 2024

The northeast Iowa food bank includes multiple options for food distribution including: cedar valley food pantry - provided an average of 4,620 families each month with supplemental food and grocery products to those who fall under the federal poverty guidelines. Member agency distribution - food is distributed to over 127 member agencies in our 16 county service area, including pantries, community meal sites, day care facilities and other community programs.backpack program - provided over 127,400 bags of food to 155 schools for children each week during the normal school year. The food is provided for kids to make sure they have food over the weekend when school is not in session.kids cafe - provided over 64,699 meals and snacks for kids after school by partnering with multiple after school programs.elderly nutrition program - provided an average of 1,054 individuals monthly with food. We distributed over 128,080 meals in partnership with area agencies on aging and senior sites for seniors who are homebound or need food over the weekend when senior meal sites are not operational.mobile food pantry - provided over 1 million meals to 13 communities in northeast Iowa, serving over 19,000 individuals over the year. Mobile food pantries provide supplemental assistance to under-served communities. Summer feeding program - served 423 kids throughout the summer at 27 locations throughout northeast Iowa.school markets - provided 19,275 individuals with over 102,500 meals at 26 schools where students spend a lot of their time.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 77% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.2%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 92.8%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $32.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 8.3%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.73; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.8%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.2% of revenue deployed · 92.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $21.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $141K · 25 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 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.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.