Now Serving Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 883368787
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022
- Location
- Raleigh, NC, USA
- Phone
- 9199498870
- Rating
- 67
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Food Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $311,058
- Expenses
- $344,994
- Assets
- $56,643
- Liabilities
- $1,625
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- GREG LOWENHAGEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- GREG LOWENHAGEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $79,950 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Now serving pairs restaurants, caterers, and commercial kitchens (meal makers) with community agencies to deliver healthy meals to neighbors in need. With our resources, meal makers integrate community meals into their operations and connect with trusted partners to enable efficient distribution. This fresh approach to hunger relief has three main benefits: it provides regular income to local business producing community meals, gives community agencies input on meal quantity and type, and most importantly, provides nutritious, ready-to-consume meals to recipients. Our vision is a sustainable support system to uplift residents across North Carolina and the south.
What it reported doing in 2024
Now serving is a nonprofit organization based in raleigh, nc, that pairs community-based organizations (cbos) with restaurants to provide healthy meals to neighbors in need. With our resources, restaurants integrate community meals into their operations and connect with trusted partners to enable efficient distribution. With recipients always top-of-mind, meals are nutritious, culturally conscious, and ready-to-eat.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 83% 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.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 45
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 19
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 53%; rating input score 53
- Program expense ratio: 47.8%; rating input score 48
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: -10.9%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.16; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 23.2%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -19.3% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 49.5% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -22.5% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 53% of revenue deployed · 47.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $165K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $80K · 15 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $139K reported
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 48/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 21/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.