Mission: Community Servings' mission is to actively engage the community to provide scratch-made medically tailored meals to individuals and their families experiencing criti ... (More)
Community Servings is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1992, and donations are tax-deductible.
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Important note on the timeliness of ratings
The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Financial and Accountability & Transparency score for Community Servings is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have.
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Star Rating System by Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator evaluates a nonprofit organization’s financial health including measures of stability, efficiency and sustainability. We also track accountability and transparency policies to ensure the good governance and integrity of the organization.
Good
This charity's score is 89.07, earning it a 3-Star rating. Donors can "Give with Confidence" to this charity.
This score is calculated from two sub-scores:
Finance: 84.55 View details
Accountability & Transparency: 100.00 View details
This score represents Form 990 data from 2020, the latest year published by the IRS.
View this organization’s historical ratings.
Star Rated Report
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Program Expense Ratio
74.7%
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s).
This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. Dividing a charity's average program expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Administrative Expenses
10.2%
As reported by charities on their IRS Form 990, this measure reflects what percent of its total budget a charity spends on overhead, administrative staff and associated costs, and organizational meetings. Dividing a charity's average administrative expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Expenses
15.0%
This measure reflects what a charity spends to raise money. Fundraising expenses can include campaign printing, publicity, mailing, and staffing and costs incurred in soliciting donations, memberships, and grants. Dividing a charity's average fundraising expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Liabilities to Assets Ratio
36.2%
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990).
Part of our goal in rating the financial performance of charities is to help donors assess the financial capacity and sustainability of a charity. As do organizations in other sectors, charities must be mindful of their management of total liabilites in relation to their total assets. This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and or long term sustainability. Dividing a charity's total liabilities by its total assets yields this percentage.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Efficiency
$0.14
The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. To calculate a charity's fundraising efficiency, we divide its average fundraising expenses by the average total contributions it receives. We calculate the charity's average expenses and average contributions over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Working Capital Ratio
1.86 years
Determines how long a charity could sustain its level of spending using its net available assets, or working capital, as reported on its most recently filed Form 990. We include in a charity's working capital unrestricted and temporarily restricted net assets, and exclude permanently restricted net assets. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. We calculate the charity's average total expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Program Expense Growth
16.04%
We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Yn/Y0)(1/n)]-1, where Y0 is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Yn is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y0 and Yn.
Source: IRS Form 990
Governance
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has these governance practices in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990
| Governance: | |
|---|---|
| Independent Voting Board Members ... (More) | |
| No Material Diversion of Assets ... (More) A diversion of assets – any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft – can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We check the charity's last two Forms 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets. If the charity does report a diversion, then we check to see if it complied with the Form 990 instructions by describing what happened and its corrective action. This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories:
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| Audited Financials Prepared by Independent Accountant ... (More) Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. They should be prepared by an independent accountant with oversight from an audit committee. (It is not necessary that the audit committee be a separate committee. Often at smaller charities, it falls within the responsibilities of the finance committee or the executive committee.) The committee provides an important oversight layer between the management of the organization, which is responsible for the financial information reported, and the independent accountant, who reviews the financials and issues an opinion based on its findings. We check the charity's Form 990 reporting to see if it meets this criteria.
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| Does Not Provide Loan(s) to or Receive Loan(s) From Related Parties ... (More) | |
| Documents Board Meeting Minutes ... (More) | |
| Distributes 990 to Board Before Filing ... (More) | |
| Compensates Board ... (More) |
Policies
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Policies: | |
|---|---|
| Conflict of Interest ... (More) | |
| Whistleblower ... (More) | |
| Records Retention and Destruction ... (More) | |
| CEO Compensation Process ... (More) | |
| Donor Privacy ... (More) Donors can be reluctant to contribute to a charity when their name, address, or other basic information may become part of donor lists that are exchanged or sold, resulting in an influx of charitable solicitations from other organizations. Our analysts check the charity's website to see if the organization has a donor privacy policy in place and what it does and does not cover. Privacy policies are assigned to one of the following categories:
The privacy policy must be specific to donor information. A general website policy which references "visitor" or "user" personal information will not suffice. A policy that refers to donor information collected on the website is also not sufficient as the policy must be comprehensive and applicable to both online and offline donors. The existence of a privacy policy of any type does not prohibit the charity itself from contacting the donor for informational, educational, or solicitation purposes. (Less) |
Transparency
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization makes this information easily accessible.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Transparency: | |
|---|---|
| CEO Salary Listed on 990 ... (More) | |
| Board of Directors Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Key Staff Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Audited Financial Statements on Website ... (More) | |
| Form 990 Available on Website ... (More) |
Additional Information
Unscored
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Total Revenue and Expenses
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Salary of Key Persons
Presented here are this organizations key compensated staff members as identified by our analysts. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
David Waters, CEO
$238,572 (2.48% of Total Expenses)
Current CEO and Board Chair can be found in the Leadership & Adaptability report below.
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2020
Business Master File Data
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Activities:
Aid to the handicapped (see also 031) (BMF activity code: 160)
Foundation Status:
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
Data Sources: IRS Forms 990
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to view this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available).
Pandemic Response
Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
Community Servings reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Revenue
Staffing
Administrative Capacity
Balance Sheet
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, Community Servings has absorbed significant financial changes. Since fiscal year 2020, our agency’s annual operating budget has increased by 62% as a result of significant programmatic expansions as we worked to rapidly respond to the pandemic in Massachusetts. The operating budget increase reflects higher operating costs, including additional food costs, safety/sanitation costs, and capital costs (such as additional delivery vans) as well as increased personnel costs. To undertake the largest programmatic expansion in our history, we grew our workforce by more than 30% since fiscal year 2020. Concurrently, we have been challenged by a substantial loss in revenue generated by our two signature annual special events: LifeSavor and Pie in the Sky. We have worked to expand our other revenue sources to mitigate this loss in funds.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and skyrocketing rates of food insecurity, we experienced a surge in demand for our medically tailored meals. In response, we increased the production of our meals by 75% to 74,000+ meals produced monthly, and increased clients served by 65% over fiscal year 2020. Given the pandemic’s outsized impact on low-resource communities and communities of color, we deepened our presence in BIPOC communities. Our tremendous growth was made possible through implementation of strict safety protocols, which allowed us to remain operational and expand our home-delivered meal model. This required a significant expansion of our staffing model to mitigate a 60% reduction in volunteerism. Since March 2020, we have hired 17 new positions across all departments. In February 2021, we launched a COVID Meals Program to serve food-insecure community members impacted by COVID-19. We reached almost 250 individuals through this program.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, we adapted all aspects of our operations and model, given the myriad challenges presented by the public health crisis. In addition to increasing the production and home-delivery of our medically tailored meals by 75%, we implemented the following key organizational changes: - To ensure the safety of our staff, clients, and community members, we implemented a “no-contact” home-delivery model as well as social distancing protocols and the provision of PPE for staff and volunteers. - We shifted our business operations which relied heavily on 50-75 volunteers per day, to more paid staff to maintain the safety of our building and streamline operations. - We increased food purchasing for expanded meal production and we grew our partnerships with food vendors to ensure we could mitigate food supply chain issues and secure the raw food products needed for meal production. - We increased sanitation of our building and delivery vans.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
92% of our clients are experiencing poverty, and, as a result, have little or no emergency stock of food. At the onset of the pandemic, to strengthen household food security, we delivered a round of medically tailored, shelf-stable meal boxes – each containing 10 meals – to our clients and their families. As we moved into the winter months, to mitigate the impact of potential delivery disruptions due to weather, we delivered another round of shelf-stable meal boxes to each client, their dependent child, and caregiver in January 2021. Each box contained 15 meals, snacks, a simple Recipe Booklet to prepare meals, and 12 disposable facemasks to support client health. In total, we have delivered more than 3,000 medically tailored, shelf-stable meal boxes to our clients and their families. Given the success of these boxes, we expect to continue to provide meal boxes to our clients and their families, supplementing their regular delivery of meals, on an annual, rolling basis.
Historical Ratings
| Date Published | Form 990 FYE | Overall Score | Overall Rating |
| Rating Version: 2.1 | |||
| 8/1/2022 | 2020 | 89.07 | |
| 12/23/2021 | 2020 | 88.87 | |
This organization received multiple star ratings within this fiscal year, due to an update to its Accountability and Transparency data and/or the receipt of an amended Form 990. | |||
| 2/1/2021 | 2019 | 85.91 | |
| 7/1/2019 | 2018 | 94.49 |  |
| 8/1/2018 | 2017 | 89.01 | |
| 10/1/2017 | 2016 | 89.62 | |
| 9/1/2016 | 2015 | 90.22 | |
| 6/1/2016 | 2014 | 94.79 | |
| Rating Version: 2.0 | |||
| 10/1/2015 | 2014 | 94.89 | |
| 10/1/2014 | 2013 | 98.74 | |
| 3/1/2013 | 2012 | 93.00 | |
| 6/1/2012 | 2011 | 89.75 | |
| 9/20/2011 | 2010 | 94.70 | |
| Rating Version: 1.0 | |||
| 7/1/2011 | 2010 | 91.24 | |
| 9/1/2010 | 2009 | 91.00 | |
| 7/1/2009 | 2008 | 87.83 | |
Previous: Finance & Accountability / Next: Leadership & Adaptability
Impact & Results
This score estimates the actual impact a nonprofit has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.
Impact & Results Score
Not Currently Scored
Community Servings cannot currently be evaluated by our Encompass Rating Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Do you work at Community Servings? Join the waitlist for an updated Impact & Results score.
Additional Information
Unscored
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Largest Programs
Community Servings reported its three largest programs on its FY 2020 Form 990 as:
$5,531,036
Spent in most recent FY
74%
Percent of program expenses
Food and Nutrition
$355,726
Spent in most recent FY
4%
Percent of program expenses
Workforce Development
$291,012
Spent in most recent FY
3%
Percent of program expenses
Food & Health Policy
Previous: Impact & Results / Next: Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
This score provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
Leadership & Adaptability Score
100
out of 100
The score earned by Community Servings is a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating.
Encompass Rating V4 provides an evaluation of the organization's Leadership & Adaptability through the nonprofit organization submitting a survey response directly to Charity Navigator.
Leadership & Adaptability Report
100
of 100 points
Mission
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s mission
Community Servings’ mission is to actively engage the community to provide medically tailored, nutritious, scratch-made meals to chronically and critically ill individuals and their families.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Vision
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
We envision a world in which everyone has access to the nutritious food they need for health and wellbeing as a fundamental right.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Strategic Goals
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: We will scale our medically tailored meal program to reach more individuals, dependent children & caregivers affected by food insecurity & severe illness. By FY24, we will provide 1.2M meals annually.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Two: We will continue to advocate for medically tailored meals as a healthcare intervention &, through our Food is Medicine Accelerator, incubate/scale medically tailored meal programs across the country.
Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.
Goal Three: We will invest in our organization to preserve what has made us successful so far, and grow robust enough to achieve our goals. This includes advancing racial equity and social justice initiatives.
Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Leadership Development
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
Describe an investment in leadership
Community Servings is committed to investing in leadership development at all levels of our agency to build capacity, retain staff, enhance our efficacy and agility, and foster a positive workplace culture. Over the past 12-18 months, key investments in leadership include: - Staff participated in a certificate program through the Institute for Nonprofit Practice to gain the skills, knowledge, and networks needed to make strategic, mission-driven decisions that center DEI and effect meaningful change. - Staff participated in the Massachusetts Institute for Community Health Leadership offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield to help participants increase their impact and effectiveness and enhance their organization’s influence in addressing challenges and opportunities. - Our 13-person leadership team completed components of the Annie E. Casey Race Matters Toolkit.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Mobilizing for Mission
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
Policy Advocacy
What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?
Community Servings is a thought leader in the field of ‘Food is Medicine’ and we have taken on a leadership role, regionally and nationally, in advocating for the role of medically tailored meals as an innovative component of integrated care for the severely ill. Community Servings is a founding member of the Food is Medicine Massachusetts coalition, and the national Food Is Medicine Coalition, a coalition of 27 nutrition agencies formed for the purpose of advocating for sustainable funding sources and shared research. In 2020, we co-launched a national “Food is Medicine” Accelerator, to incubate and scale medically tailored meal programs across the country with the goal of increasing access to the medically tailored meal model. Community Servings regularly presents data on our nutrition model at national conferences, and we have published the results of four research studies on the impact of our medically tailored meals in peer-reviewed, academic journals.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Story of Adaptability
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
Over the past year, as COVID-19 raged throughout the Commonwealth, we innovated and adapted our home-delivered, medically tailored meal model on a weekly, if not daily, basis, with the goals of continuing to serve our clients and their families experiencing illness and food insecurity while expanding our operations to reach additional community members in need. Over the past year, we increased the production of our medically tailored meals by more than 75% to almost 74,000 meals per month. Given the pandemic’s outsized impact on low-resource communities and communities of color, we expanded our presence in Black and Latinx communities and Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities (midsize urban centers that anchor regional economies across the state and face social and economic challenges). With an increasingly diverse client base, we prioritized adapting our nutrition program to ensure our outreach strategy, client communications, menu development, and nutrition education and counseling reflect a culturally competent approach. To support our tremendous growth and mitigate a 60% reduction in volunteerism due to COVID-19 and social distancing guidelines, we hired 17 additional staff members, primarily in delivery, kitchen, nutrition, and client services departments. We developed new programs and program components to more effectively meet the needs of our clients and their families over the past year. This includes the launch of a COVID Meals Program for food-insecure community members with a diagnosis of COVID-19, and the provision of medically tailored shelf-stable meal boxes to our clients and their families. We implemented key operational changes to promote the safety of our community, staff, and clients, such as a “no-contact” home delivery model and increased sanitation of our building and delivery vans, and we collaborated with more food vendors to ensure we could mitigate food supply chain issues and secure the food products needed to prepare 74,000+ meals per month.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Additional Information
Unscored
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Organization Leadership
David B. Waters
Chief Executive Officer
Peter Zane
Chair
Previous: Leadership & Adaptability
Culture & Community
This score provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves. Learn more about how and why we rate Culture & Community.
Culture & Community Score
100
out of 100
Community Servings has earned a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating. The organization provided data about how it listens to constituents (Constituent Feedback) and its Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) practices (see report below).
The Culture & Community Beacon is comprised of the following metrics:
Constituent Feedback: 100/100 (30% of beacon score)
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: 100/100 (70% of beacon score)
Culture & Community Report
100
of 100 points
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Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
100/100 points
70% of beacon score
This organization's score of 100 is a passing score. The organization reported that it is implementing 12 diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective DEI policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
View this organization's DEI Strategies
Methodology
We are utilizing data collected by Candid to document and assess the DEI practices implemented by the organization. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to fill out the Equity Strategies section of their Candid profiles to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Constituent Feedback
100/100 points
30% of beacon score
This organization reported that it is collecting feedback from the constituents and/or communities it serves. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations that engage in inclusive practices, such as collecting feedback from the people and communities they serve, may be more effective.
View this organization's Constituent Feedback Practices
Methodology
We've partnered with Candid to survey organizations about their feedback practices. Nonprofit organizations can fill out the How We Listen section of their Candid profile to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Analysis and Research
Like the overall Encompass Rating System, the Culture & Community Beacon is designed to evolve as metrics are developed and ready for integration. Below you can find more information about the metrics we currently evaluate in this beacon and their relevance to nonprofit performance.
Constituent Feedback
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
