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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 87.62, earning it a 3-Star rating. Donors can "Give with Confidence" to this charity.

This score is calculated from two sub-scores:

Finance: 82.50 View details
Accountability & Transparency: 100.00 View details

This score represents Form 990 data from 2019, the latest year published by the IRS.

View this organization’s historical ratings.

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Star Rated Report

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Program Expense

Program Expense Ratio

94.2%

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

2.0%

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

3.6%

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

7.4%

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

$0.03

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

0.13 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

-2.01%

We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Y_n/Y₀)^(1/n)]-1, where Y₀ is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Y_n is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y₀ and Y_n.

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: Full Credit: There has been no diversion of assets within the last two years. Partial Credit: There has been a diversion of assets within the last two years and the charity has used Schedule O on the Form 990 to explain: the nature of the diversion, the amount of money or property involved and the corrective action taken to address the matter. In this situation, we deduct 7 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. No Credit: There has been a diversion of assets within the last two years and the charity's explanation on Schedule O is either non-existent or not sufficient. In this case, we deduct 15 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. (Less)
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. Full Credit: The charity's audited financials were prepared by an independent accountant with an audit oversight committee. Partial Credit: The charity's audited financials were prepared by an independent accountant, but it did not have an audit oversight committee. In this case, we deduct 7 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. No Credit: The charity did not have its audited financials prepared by an independent accountant. In this case, we deduct 15 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. (Less)
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 have expressed extreme concern about the use of their personal information by charities and the desire to have this information kept confidential. The exchanging and sale of lists for telemarketing and the mass distribution of "junk mail," among other things, can be minimized if the charity assures the privacy of its donors. Privacy policies are assigned to one of the following categories: Yes: This charity has a written donor privacy policy published on its website, which states unambiguously that (1) it will not share or sell a donor's personal information with anyone else, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations or (2) it will only share or sell personal information once the donor has given the charity specific permission to do so. Opt-out: The charity has a written privacy policy published on its website which enables donors to tell the charity to remove their names and contact information from lists the charity shares or sells. How a donor can have themselves removed from a list differs from one charity to the next, but any and all opt-out policies require donors to take specific action to protect their privacy. No: This charity either does not have a written donor privacy policy in place to protect their contributors' personal information, or the existing policy does not meet our criteria. 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

Ryan Hoyle, Chief Development Officer

$275,193 (0.37% of Total Expenses)

Gerald Brisson, President & CEO

$203,020 (0.27% 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:

Community service organization (BMF activity code: 408)

Supplying money, goods or services to the poor (BMF activity code: 560)

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.

Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:

Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Revenue
Staffing
Administrative Capacity
Balance Sheet
Project timelines for some activities were forced to moved up, some projects in turn were delayed; keeping up with a higher level of demand amid new processes

How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:

We saw a significant increase in donations & federal funding (95% increase combined) & a corresponding increase in operations expenses. We also saw an increase in donated food (35%), the majority coming from federal sources. Increased federal funding/reimbursement dollars allowed us to test & launch new distribution methods to support increased need in the community. Need & urgency for growth magnified our capacity/operational constraints, supported an expedited purchase of a new warehouse building to ensure we're able to respond appropriately to future surges in need. Increased funding was used for food (100% increase in purchased food) and labor. This allowed us to focus on our goal of feeding more people rather than extensive resource focused on finding funds. This also enabled us to be creative and flexible in safely keeping our workforce employed (no furloughs or layoffs), provide additional temporary jobs to the workforce, & provide more impact on the tremendous community need.

How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:

The core mission of moving food out into the community through community partnerships & direct community distribution sites was accomplished through creative thinking & immediate action & remained strong throughout the crisis. However, several of our pre-pandemic partnerships within the community were put on hold or eliminated altogether because of the crisis. Despite the close of many small, volunteer-run pantries, Gleaners was able to increase mobile deliveries and find new partners. However, the handful of program partnerships with an evaluation component (including public clinics & schools) were put on hold & remain in limbo. All in-person nutrition education was halted as well, although we quickly pivoted to virtual platforms: both recorded & live. With virtual access in place, we have been able to reach many more people with healthy recipe demos & other nutritional educational information. All in-person garden & service-learning work with school-aged children was also stopped.

How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:

Thanks to our community's generosity, we ramped up our efforts & use the lessons learned to inform future activities. We are finding new solutions to provide food & improve the well-being of people in southeast MI. The increase in demand for food during COVID necessitated additional leased warehouse space & trucks. More recently, we purchased a new distribution center & are consolidating operations for greater efficiencies. Additional adaptations included better use of technology to market food distributions & a new effort to pack & distribute shelf-stable quarantine boxes quickly for home delivery organizations & agencies without adequate refrigeration. We have also leveraged various technologies for conducting meetings with Gleaners stakeholders. During the height of the pandemic, we provided additional amenities & flexibility to support our frontline staff. We also distributed PPE & created a handbook on safe operations for other non-profits assisting Gleaners with distributions.

Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:

There are several innovations we will continue for the foreseeable future, including introduction of a virtual component of our nutritional education work reaching more people than ever, wider partnerships with other non-profits, governmental organizations, service clubs, and more that can distribute directly to those that need food assistance, and continuing the work we’ve helped lead in partnership with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to receive USDA reimbursements for mobile distributions of fresh foods to students instead of the conventional Federally-legislated approach of feeding kids in summer. The results of this new approach included less food waste, greater individual satisfaction, an increase in family-oriented cooking activities, and lower per-person cost. We have provided those evaluation findings to legislators as they debate the new Childhood Food Assistance legislation.

Historical Ratings

Date Published	Form 990 FYE	Overall Score	Overall Rating
Rating Version: 2.1
11/1/2020	2019	87.62
9/3/2019	2018	93.62
7/1/2019	2017	94.69
9/1/2018	2017	92.74
This organization received multiple star ratings within this fiscal year, due to an update to it's Accountability and Transparency data and/or the receipt of an amended Form 990.
12/1/2017	2016	93.41
11/1/2016	2015	88.24
6/1/2016	2014	84.09

Rating Version: 2.0
12/22/2015	2014	81.60
12/1/2014	2013	81.89
5/1/2013	2012	81.75
6/1/2012	2011	93.61
9/20/2011	2010	93.70

Rating Version: 1.0
7/1/2011	2010	94.51
8/1/2010	2009	94.55
3/1/2009	2008	92.03
5/1/2008	2007	91.60
5/1/2007	2006	88.49
7/1/2006	2005	78.57
5/1/2005	2004	77.90
5/1/2004	2003	86.23
4/15/2003	2002	86.00
10/15/2002	2001	97.02

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

100

out of 100

Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan is , earning a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating.

Impact

$2 provides a meal to a person in need.

Do you work at Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan? Join the waitlist for an updated Impact & Results score.

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Impact & Results Report

100

of 100 points

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Rated Program

Program

Partner Agency Distribution, Mobile Pantries, Meet Up and Eat Up, My Neighborhood Mobile Grocery and

Activities

The nonprofit primarily collects, warehouses and distributes food to front-line organizations like food pantries and soup kitchens. It also manages smaller programs that serve meals and provide groceries directly to beneficiaries.

Program Type

Beneficiaries Served

Program Geography

Time Period of Data

Learn how we assess the impact of nonprofits

Outcomes and Cost

Outcomes: Changes in the lives of those served by a nonprofit. They can be caused by the nonprofit.

Costs: The money spent by a nonprofit and its partners and beneficiaries.

Impact: Outcome caused by a nonprofit relative to its cost.

Cost-effectiveness: A judgment as to whether the cost was a good use of resources to cause the outcome.

Outcome Metric

Outcome Data Source

Ratings are based on data the nonprofit itself collects on its work. We use the most recent year with sufficient data. Typically, this data allows us to calculate direct changes in participants' lives, such as increased income.

Outcome data collected during the program. The nonprofit publicly reports the amount of food it provides.

Method for Attributing Outcomes

We don't know if the observed changes were caused by the nonprofit's program or something else happening at the same time (e.g., a participant got a raise). To determine causation, we take the outcomes we observe and subtract an estimate of the outcomes that would have happened even without the program (i.e., counterfactual outcomes).

We assume that the distribution of a meal from one nonprofit's food distribution program does not diminish the amount of food distributed by any other (neighboring) food distribution program. This “counterfactual” assumption about the amount of food distributed in the absence of the nonprofit’s food distribution program implies that the benefit of a meal to a beneficiary in need constitutes a net gain; the gain is not offset by reductions in food provided to other beneficiaries in need. We therefore set the counterfactual to zero.

Cost Data Source

After estimating the program's outcomes, we need to determine how much it cost to achieve those outcomes. All monetary costs are counted, whether they are borne by a nonprofit service deliverer or by the nonprofit’s public and private partners.

Program cost data reported by the nonprofit. Partner and beneficiary costs reported by the nonprofit or estimated by Charity Navigator.

Impact and Determination

We calculate impact, defined as the change in outcomes attributable to a program divided by the cost to achieve those outcomes.

Impact Statement

$2 provides a meal to a person in need.

Benchmark for Rating

Impact & Results scores of food distribution programs are based on the cost of a meal relative to the cost that a food-secure person incurs to buy a meal in that county. Programs receive an Impact & Results score of 100 if they are less than 75% the cost of a meal and a score of 75 if they are less than 125%. If a nonprofit reports impact but doesn't meet the threshold for cost-effectiveness, it earns a score of 50.

Determination

Nonprofit Comment

Before publishing, we ask every nonprofit we can to review our work, offer corrections and provide a comment.

This nonprofit did not provide a comment