Project Open Hand

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943023551
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4154472300
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Meals on Wheels

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$26,531,210
Expenses
$20,778,412
Assets
$19,910,740
Liabilities
$2,433,828

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Paul Hepfer (Chief Executive Officer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Paul Hepfer (Chief Executive Officer): $316,860 total reported compensation
  • Zheng Dong (COO & CFO): $207,842 total reported compensation
  • Ana Ayala (VP of Programs): $156,510 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Project Open Hand's mission is to improve health outcomes and quality of life by providing nutritious meals to the sick and vulnerable, caring for and educating our community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Project Open Hand's Wellness Program provides medically supportive nutrition interventions for people that have a chronic health conditions in San Francisco, Alameda County, Contra Costa County and some parts of Sacramento. Our medically tailored services are accessed through our grocery centers in San Francisco and Oakland, satellite grocery center locations in San Francisco, and weekly home delivery of meals and groceries. As part of our nutrition interventions, all clients have access to not only our meals and groceries but educational services offered through our Nutrition Services team. This includes individual counseling sessions with our Registered Dietitians, cooking demonstrations, food demonstrations and various other classes and resources. Our Client-Centered NutritionHome (CCNH) Model is designed to optimize client engagement in a MTN intervention and to set clients up for long-term success in managing nutrition-related health conditions. The CCNH framework recognizes that for vulnerable communities, nutrition security cannot exist in a vacuum. To foster effective long-term management of nutrition-related health conditions, the CCNH model brings an interdisciplinary approach to POH services. Taking this client-centered approach, our team is available to provide added support to clients needing assistance and linkage to other beneficial resources that address various social determinants of health that may impact their ability to stay engaged in care.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 73% for direct work, and 27% for 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: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.1%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 86.8%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 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: 21.7%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.96; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.1% of revenue deployed · 86.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $18M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $317K · 18 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.