Meeting 10 Final Project Example

Criteria Small(ish) nonprofit Must be a 501(c)3 Not a member-serving organization Ranked 2-3 stars Small in size (somewhere around $5 million in program expenses, or less)

Food Access Charities Found under “Human Services” “Food pantries and food distribution” Big nationally recognized examples: Second Harvest (national and local chapters) Generally **** rated

Imperial Valley Food Pantry El Centro, California

Imperial Valley Food Bank (IVFB) is an independent, non-profit charitable corporation, created and operated for and by residents of Imperial Valley with the purpose of feeding those in need living in Imperial County. The food bank was established in 1991. IVFB has steadily increased our capacity to meet the needs of our community. The demand for emergency food assistance in Imperial Valley remains a county-wide effort as IVFB consistently serves 20,000 individuals monthly. IVFB's primary function is to resource, allocate and distribute nutritious food through non-profit agencies in the county who distribute food directly to their local communities.

Mission Statement At the Imperial Valley Food Bank we aim to ensure that all residents have access to nutritionally valuable food. Our programs and staff support the distribution of food as well as increase self-reliance to improve the quality of life within our community.

Charity Navigator Ratings…. Financial: *** Accountability and Transparency: * Overall: ** Puzzle – much easier to fix accountability and transparency than financials Even if you cannot afford an independent audit, many of other measures are free

Financials Revenue Program expenses: $2.7 million $2.57 million contributions $1.2 million in government grants (47% of revenues) Annual report indicates large foundation grants – not picked up by CN Program expenses: $2.7 million Administrative Expenses $91,769 Fundraising expenses: $76,000 Program Expenses/Total Expenses = 94% Compensation to CEO: $53,546 (obviously, very good number)

Failure is on Transparency and Accountability Charity Navigator criteria where nonprofit fails: Conflict of interest policy Whistleblower policy (only 15 staff members) Records retention Donor privacy policy Audited Financials Proudly promotes Independent Board Members on Website Form 990 Why????????

Leveraging of Activities Works with:

Specifics on Programs Nutrition Education Weekend Backpack Program Box of Basics ($25 food “bag”) that contains basic needs for week Food Rescue (partnered with Walmart) Captures food that would be discarded School gardens

Parallel Government Programs Food Stamps Must have gross monthly income of $2,600 or less About $30,000/year (family of four) Another one of those odd things the federal government does This is a good amount of money in rural Tennessee, where a house can be purchased for $60,000 Benefit is on sliding scale Must have lived in country for five years Working or willing to work

Website Vague about Impacts Repeats financials and sources of funds Could easily “up its game” by being more transparent about where money actually goes Also an issue – organization is “banking” money This makes evaluators nervous, but simply could be desire to be bigger in the future

Creating a Parallel Nonprofit With Same Focus Emphasis should be on mission, methodology, stakeholders, etc. No need to make up financials Stick to organizing a mid-size nonprofit conformable to the one you reviewed Complex funding makes the exercise more interesting Make sure you address leveraging of donations, answerability, management structure, etc.

Also…. How does organization reach its donors Volunteers? Web only? Advertising (impact on costs) Volunteers? Where are they put to use? How does your organization prevent malfeasance? Long-term plans and prospects Other? Be creative.