Nourishing Bethesda Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
883870659
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Bethesda, MD, USA
Phone
3014372752
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,013,341
Expenses
$1,761,901
Assets
$757,630
Liabilities
$114,489

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • John F Ross (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • John F Ross (Executive Director): $115,114 total reported compensation
  • Chris Rief (Operations Manager): $79,900 total reported compensation
  • Tammi Houton (Deputy Director): $62,190 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Fighting food insecurity in our area by providing nutritious food and community support to our neighbors in need, as well as offering and linking our clients to wraparound resources that will enable them to build healthy and stable lives.

What it reported doing in 2025

Food Distribution: In 2025 NB distributed more than 738,929 pounds of food to more than 2,500 households. Approximately 40% of those served were children and approximately 15% were seniors. In addition to fulfilling weekly food pick up appointments for families, we also served community low-income senior housing, low-income students at elementary and high schools, a mens homeless shelter, and permanent transitional housing. We served multiple communities in Montgomery County, Maryland. More than 900 volunteers gave more than 49,000 hours in 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 62% 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.2%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 81.3%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th 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: 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: 12.5%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.43; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.6%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 38.9% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 43.2% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 53.8% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.2% of revenue deployed · 81.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $115K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.