World Central Kitchen
Legal name: World Central Kitchen Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 273521132
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2011, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2028446430
- Rating
- 85
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- International Relief
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $327,840,221
- Expenses
- $299,290,383
- Assets
- $221,564,113
- Liabilities
- $29,204,701
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
20 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ERIN GORE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- ERIN GORE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $357,532 total reported compensation
- GARIMA GUPTA (CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER (THRU 10/24)): $318,278 total reported compensation
- JASON COLLIS (CHIEF RELIEF OFFICER/VP RELIEF): $255,941 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
World Central Kitchen is first to the frontlines, providing fresh meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises. In the early months of the invasion, WCK served millions of fresh meals to Ukrainian families caught between the choice of fleeing their homes or facing the ravages of war. Now, we are focused on supporting frontline communities in eastern and southern Ukraine where the need for food has become more urgent than ever. We are supporting Ukrainians the best way we know how: with a freshly prepared plate of food. WCK’s team in Ukraine constantly adapts to meet the needs of impacted families. With the support of a dedicated team of more than 500 Ukrainians, we are reaching cities in active conflict zones, recently liberated towns, and communities hosting displaced families. We’re providing hot me.
What it reported doing in 2024
2024 relief accomplishmentsdeploying our model of quick action, leveraging local resources, and adapting in real-time, wck served more than 121 million meals in 2024, including in gaza, israel, lebanon, ukraine, mexico, greece, spain, bangladesh, haiti, poland, czech republic, mayotte, japan, and in the united states including North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, California, Florida, and Texas.wck knows that a nourishing meal in a time of crisis is so much more than a plate of foodit's hope, it's dignity, and it's a sign that someone cares.
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 87% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 81
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 59
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 82.7%; rating input score 83
- Program expense ratio: 90.3%; rating input score 90
- Fundraising efficiency: $24.27 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 8.7%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.74; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.9%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 32% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 27.2% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 29.2% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 82.7% of revenue deployed · 90.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $270.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $358K · 20 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $14.4M reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 13 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.
- 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: 6 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.