Operation Bbq Relief

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
452442792
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Peculiar, MO, USA
Phone
8446277353
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Emergency Assistance

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,279,611
Expenses
$8,979,116
Assets
$17,538,540
Liabilities
$2,511,827

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STANLEY L HAYS (CO-FOUNDER/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • STANLEY L HAYS (CO-FOUNDER/CEO): $284,802 total reported compensation
  • DAVID P ROSEN (CLO/SECRETARY (NON-VOTING)): $272,067 total reported compensation
  • DAVID MARKS (SR HEAD OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT): $189,128 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Operation bbq relief provides comfort to those in need by connecting, inspiring, serving, and educating in communities far and wide.

What it reported doing in 2025

The always serving project is a year-round initiative of operation bbq relief dedicated to serving military members, veterans, first responders, and communities facing hunger. Through culinary therapy, community barbecue events, and educational programming, the always serving project connects, inspires, educates, and serves communities with the healing power of bbq beyond moments of disaster. Programming includes the bbq academy, which equips service members, veterans, and first responders with hands-on barbecue skills as a means of connection and community service, and days of giving events that provide hot meals year-round to food-insecure communities. During 2025, the always serving project engaged 2,215 volunteers across 127 events, contributing 31,435 hours of service over 886 deployment days.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 80% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 77.9%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 97.5%; rating input score 97; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 11th 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: -109.8%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.95; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.7%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.5% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 77.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $285K · 16 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $613K reported
  • Consistency: 43 of 44 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.