The Merced County Food Bank

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
800093563
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Merced, CA, USA
Phone
2097263663
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Food Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,471,173
Expenses
$9,341,498
Assets
$8,538,411
Liabilities
$1,418,945

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEVE VANN (PRESIDENT)
  • CASEY STEED (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • WILLIAM GIBBS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • WILLIAM GIBBS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $134,291 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 organization's mission is to improve the health and well-being of merced & mariposa county residents affected by hunger; through the acquisition, storage and distribution of nutritious food.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our organization is actively involved in outreach pantries and partners with 105 food pantries. We host neighborhood food distribution programs located at places of worship, community centers, and senior centers throughout merced county. Neighborhood grocerty pantries provide a critical food safety net for low-income residents not reached by other hunger relief programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% 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.
  • 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.2%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 92%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $41.98 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 24th 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.8%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.91; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.4%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.6% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.2% of revenue deployed · 92% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $8.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $134K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.