The Food Project Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043262532
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lincoln, MA, USA
Phone
7812598621
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nutrition

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,229,190
Expenses
$3,752,306
Assets
$3,174,627
Liabilities
$577,828

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARITZA ROSARIO (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • JOHN WANG (PRESIDENT, CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARITZA ROSARIO (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $128,728 total reported compensation
  • JOHN WANG (PRESIDENT, CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $101,238 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The food project's mission is to create a thoughtful and productive community of youth and adults from diverse backgrounds who work together to build a sustainable food system.

What it reported doing in 2024

Food production and enterprise programs provide education and development for youth through the production and distribution of food and creation of food enterprises.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% 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

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.4%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 65.8%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th 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: 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: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -16.2%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.85; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.1%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.4% of revenue deployed · 65.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $129K · 16 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $213K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.