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Hampton VA | IRS ruling year: 1988 | EIN: 54-1422298
Founded in 1986, the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank distributes food effectively through collaborative efforts that minimize hunger, promote nutrition and encourage sel ... (More)
Founded in 1986, the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank distributes food effectively through collaborative efforts that minimize hunger, promote nutrition and encourage self-reliance through education. The Foodbank is the leading non-profit hunger-relief organization on the Virginia Peninsula which receives and distributes purchased and donated food. In turn, these items are distributed to qualified nonprofit organizations providing food to the less fortunate across the Greater Peninsula. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, the Foodbank distributed over 12.7 million pounds of food (equal to 10.6 million meals) throughout its service area which encompasses the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson and Williamsburg and the counties of Gloucester, James City, Mathews, Surry, and York. (Less)
Great
This charity's score is 98%, earning it a Four-Star rating. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence.
This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores: 32% Accountability & Finance, 50% Impact & Results, 7% Leadership & Adaptability, 10% Culture & Community. Learn more about our criteria and methodology.
We recognize that not all metrics and beacons equally predict a charity’s success. The percentage each beacon contributes to the organization’s overall rating depends on the number of beacons an organization has earned.
Use the tool below to select different beacons to see how the weighting shifts when only one, two, or three beacons are earned.
| Date Published | Form 990 FYE | Overall Score | Overall Rating |
| Rating Version: 2.1 | |||
| 11/1/2021 | 2020 | 95.47 | |
| 7/1/2020 | 2019 | 92.92 | |
| 6/1/2020 | 2019 | 92.38 | |
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. | |||
| 10/1/2019 | 2018 | 93.98 | |
| 5/1/2018 | 2017 | 94.58 | |
| 6/1/2017 | 2016 | 97.32 | |
| 8/1/2016 | 2015 | 96.90 | |
| 6/1/2016 | 2014 | 98.75 | |
| Rating Version: 2.0 | |||
| 11/1/2015 | 2014 | 95.25 | |
| 10/1/2015 | 2014 | 94.47 | |
| 5/1/2014 | 2013 | 91.86 | |
| 3/1/2013 | 2012 | 94.71 | |
| 5/1/2012 | 2011 | 90.52 | |
| 9/20/2011 | 2010 | 93.94 | |
| Rating Version: 1.0 | |||
| 4/1/2011 | 2010 | 95.05 | |
| 8/1/2010 | 2009 | 91.95 | |
| 6/1/2009 | 2008 | 96.76 | |
| 6/1/2008 | 2007 | 99.74 | |
| 7/1/2007 | 2006 | 94.98 | |
The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Accountability & Finance score for Virginia Peninsula Foodbank 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.
Virginia Peninsula Foodbank has earned a 95% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.
This Accountability & Finance score represents IRS Form 990 data up until FY 2020, which is the most recent Form 990 currently available to us.
Learn more
Full Credit
Partial Credit
No Credit
Not Applicable
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has these governance practices in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990
| Independent Voting Board Members ... (More) The presence of an independent governing body is strongly recommended by many industry professionals to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters. Our analysts check the Form 990 to determine if the independent Board members are a voting majority and also at least five in number. (Less) | |
| 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) Making loans to related parties such as key officers, staff, or Board members, is not standard practice in the sector as it may divert the charity's funds away from its charitable mission and can lead to real and perceived conflict-of-interest problems. This practice is discouraged by sector trade groups which point to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act when they call for charities to refrain from making loans to directors and executives. And the IRS is concerned enough with the practice that it requires charities to disclose on their Form 990 any loans to or from current and former officers, directors, trustees, key employees, and other "disqualified persons." Furthermore, some state laws go so far as to prohibit loans to board members and officers. And although employees and trustees are permitted to make loans to charities, this practice can also result in real and/or perceived conflict of interest problems for the charity. Furthermore, it is problematic because it is an indicator that the organization is not financially secure. (Less) | |
| Documents Board Meeting Minutes ... (More) An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference. Charities are not required to make their Board meeting minutes available to the public. As such, we are not able to review and critique their minutes. For this performance metric, we are checking to see if the charity reports on its Form 990 that it does keep those minutes. In the future, we will also track and rate whether or not a charity keeps minutes for its committee meetings. (Less) | |
| Distributes 990 to Board Before Filing ... (More) Providing copies of the Form to the governing body in advance of filing is considered a best practice, as it allows for thorough review by the individuals charged with overseeing the organization. The Form 990 asks the charity to disclose whether or not it has followed this best practice. If the charity has not distributed its Form 990 to the board before filing, then we deduct 4 points from its Accountability and Transparency score. (Less) | |
| Does not Compensate Board Members ... (More) The IRS requires that any compensation paid to members of the charity's governing body be listed on the Form 990. Furthermore, all members of the governing body need to be listed whether or not they are compensated. It is not unusual for some members of the board to have compensation listed. The executive director of the organization frequently has a seat on the board, for instance, and is compensated for being a full time staff member. However, it is rare for a charity to compensate individuals only for serving on its Board of Directors. Although this sort of board compensation is not illegal, it is not considered a best practice. (Less) | |
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
| Conflict of Interest ... (More) Such a policy protects the organization, and by extension those it serves, when it is considering entering into a transaction that may benefit the private interest of an officer or director of the organization. Charities are not required to share their conflict of interest policies with the public. Although we can not evaluate the substance of its policy, we can tell you if the charity has one in place based on the information it reports on its Form 990. If the charity does not have a Conflict of Interest policy, then we deduct 4 points from its Accountability and Transparency score. (Less) | |
| Whistleblower ... (More) This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report any financial mismanagement. Here we are reporting on the existence of a policy as reported by the charity on its Form 990. (Less) | |
| Records Retention and Destruction ... (More) Such a policy establishes guidelines for handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promotes data integrity. Here we are reporting on the existence of a policy as reported by the charity on its Form 990. If the charity does not have a Records Retention and Destruction Policy, then we deduct 4 points from its Accountability and Transparency score. (Less) | |
| CEO Compensation Process ... (More) This process indicates that the organization has a documented policy that it follows year after year. The policy should indicate that an objective and independent review process of the CEO's compensation has been conducted which includes benchmarking against comparable organizations. We check to be sure that the charity has reported on its Form 990 its process for determining its CEO pay. (Less) | |
| 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) | |
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
| CEO Salary Listed on 990 ... (More) Charities are required to list their CEO's name and compensation on the Form 990. Our analysts check to be sure that the charities complied with the Form 990 instructions and included this information in their filing. (Less) | |
| Board of Directors Listed on Website ... (More) Our analysts check to see if the charity lists Board members on its website. Publishing this information enables donors and other stakeholders to ascertain the make up of the charity's governing body. This enables stakeholders to report concerns to the Board. Charity Navigator does not cross-check the Board members listed on the website with that reported on the Form 990, because the latter often isn't available until more than a year after the charity's fiscal year ends. In that time, the charity's Board members may have changed, and the charity typically reflects those more recent changes on the website. (Less) | |
| Key Staff Listed on Website ... (More) It is important for donors and other stakeholders to know who runs the organization day-to-day. Charity Navigator does not cross-check the leadership listed on the website with that reported on the Form 990 because the latter often isn't available until more than a year after the charity's fiscal year ends. In that time, the charity's leadership may have changed and the charity typically reflects those more recent changes on the website. In other words, since the Form 990 isn't especially timely, it can not be used to verify the leadership information published on the charity's site. (Less) | |
| Audited Financial Statements Listed on Website ... (More) We check the charity's website to see if it has published its audited financial statements for the fiscal year represented by the most recently filed IRS Form 990. It is important for donors to have easy access to this financial report to help determine if the organization is managing its financial resources well. We currently rate charities on whether or not they publish their audit on their website. (Less) | |
| Form 990 Available on Website ... (More) We check the charity's website to see if it has published its most recently filed IRS Form 990 (a direct link to the charity's 990 on an external site is sufficient). It is important for donors to have easy access to this financial report to help determine if the organization is managing its financial resources well. (Less) | |
Full CreditPartial CreditNo CreditNot ApplicableLiabilities to Assets Ratio - 3.10% - 10/10 ptsLiabilities to Assets Ratio - 3.10% - 10/10 pts
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
Working Capital Ratio - 0.85 years - 10/10 ptsWorking Capital Ratio - 0.85 years - 10/10 pts
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
Fundraising Efficiency - $0.02 - 10/10 ptsFundraising Efficiency - $0.02 - 10/10 pts
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
Administrative Expense Ratio - 0.89% - 10/10 ptsAdministrative Expense Ratio - 0.89% - 10/10 pts
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 Expense Ratio - 2.70% - 10/10 ptsFundraising Expense Ratio - 2.70% - 10/10 pts
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
Program Expense Ratio - 96.30% - 10/10 ptsProgram Expense Ratio - 96.30% - 10/10 pts
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
Program Expense Growth - 0.60% - 3.6/10 ptsProgram Expense Growth - 0.60% - 3.6/10 pts
Organizations that demonstrate consistent annual growth in program expenses are able to outpace inflation and thus sustain their programs year to year. These organizations also supply givers with greater confidence by maintaining broad public support for their programs. 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
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
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
Karen Joyner, Chief Executive Officer
$108,093 (0.51% 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
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:
Hospital pharmacy, parking facility, food services, etc. (BMF activity code: 169)
Described in section 170(b)1)(a)(vi) of the Code (BMF activity code: 994)
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)
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 search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). Simply enter the organization's name (Virginia Peninsula Foodbank) or EIN (541422298) in the 'Search Term' field.
This organization was impacted by COVID-19 in a way that effected their financial health in 2020. This normally would have reduced their star rating. 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, and doing this pauses our revision of their rating. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
Virginia Peninsula Foodbank reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Staffing
Administrative Capacity
Grants Received
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
During the first several months of the COVID-19 pandemic, donations to our organization increased exponentially, with heightened media coverage of our programs and the knowledge that the need for food assistance had increased dramatically. However, as much was raised, we also were tasked with purchasing more food to address increasing requests for support. Even a year later, we are still seeing the need for healthy food remaining strong, and the initial influx of donations has slowed down considerably as vaccines become prevalent and the community operates more in line with pre-pandemic practices. Our challenge is to continue to raise and hold the financial resources needed to address any future unexpected increases in service levels for our agencies and programs. The economic and personal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will impact many in our community for the immediate future.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
Food banks are called upon to be a part of the community's emergency response following a natural/weather disaster or health pandemic. As a result, we were tasked with operating our programs at an even higher level of service. We used our mobile pantry model to create and execute specialized drive-through large-scale pantry distributions often serving 400+ families at stadium, amusement park, and megachurch parking lots in order to serve a significant number of households in a short time period. We also developed smaller "pop-up" distributions to serve employees in the retail, hospitality, and university support staff industries. At one point in 2020, our partner agencies and structured mobile pantry distribution sites were seeing between a 30%-80% increase in attendance above pre-pandemic standard levels. Access to healthy food is a basic fundamental need, and we increased our presence and programmatic offerings to respond to our community neighbors impacted by the pandemic.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
-We converted all mobile pantry distributions to drive-through formats where participants receive food items that are pre-boxed and placed directly into their vehicles in order to minimize contact. -Our child feeding programs were changed from having hot prepared meals consumed on site to "Grab and Go" distributions with children receiving pre-bagged meals that they could take home to eat. -When schools closed and in-person instruction was discontinued, the portable bags of weekend meals in our BackPack Program were delivered to school and community sites for drive-through distributions. -All volunteers at our warehouse facility are required to complete health questionnaires, agree to temperature checks and regular hand washing, and wear masks when performing tasks. We also decreased the number of volunteers at certain points to ensure social distancing. -We must purchase more food to have on hand for our agencies and programs when the food supply and donation chain is interrupted.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
We fully intend to keep our mobile pantry distributions in a drive-through format because it has increased efficiency and also maintains a high level of safety. At pantry distributions tailored to senior citizens and neighbors with disabilities, we will continue with a home delivery model. In our current and future organizational budgets, we are allocating more funding for purchasing essential food items and produce to have in inventory for our partner agencies and food distribution programs because we are now aware of how the food purchasing and supply chain can be suddenly disrupted during an emergency. We are also going to continue asking volunteers to follow enhanced hygiene and safety protocols because it minimizes the transmission of illness.
Virginia Peninsula Foodbank has earned a 100% for the Impact & Results beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon estimates the actual impact a charity has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.
Learn more
Full CreditPartial CreditNo CreditNot Applicable
Program
Food Distribution, BackPack Program, Kids Cafe, Mobile Pantry, Self-Help and Resource Exchange, Summer Food Service Program and Commodity Programs
Activities
Virginia Peninsula Foodbank 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
Food Distribution
Beneficiaries Served
People living in poverty;Children and youth;Seniors
Program Geography
8 counties in VA
Time Period of Data
7/1/2017 to 6/30/2018
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
A meal provided to a person in need
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.
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 Virginia Peninsula Foodbank’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.
Cost Calculation
$1,963,264 program costs + $18,065,649 partner costs + $137,621 beneficiary costs = $20,166,534 total costs
We calculate impact, defined as the change in outcomes attributable to a program divided by the cost to achieve those outcomes.
Impact Calculation
$20,166,534 total costs / 10,852,585 meals provided = roughly $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 80 if they are less than 125%. If a nonprofit reports impact but doesn't meet the benchmark for cost-effectiveness, it earns a score of 65.
Determination
Highly cost-effective
Virginia Peninsula Foodbank reported its three largest programs on its FY 2020 Form 990 as:
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
Donated Food Distribution Program
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
Kid's Café Program
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
Share Program
Virginia Peninsula Foodbank has earned a 99% for the Culture & Community beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves.
Learn more
Full CreditPartial CreditNo CreditNot ApplicableConstituent Feedback - Data Available - 100/100 ptsConstituent Feedback - Data Available - 100/100 pts
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.
Who are the people you serve with your mission? Describe briefly.
Through our food assistance programs, we serve individuals, families, children, seniors, and veterans who are experiencing food insecurity. This means that they are unable to access the food they need to feed themselves or their families and live a healthy lifestyle. While we do serve those who are caught in a cycle of poverty and face chronic food insecurity, we also provide support for people who are confronting short-term disruptions to their lives, such as a job loss, medical emergency, accident, or unexpected expenses. We aim to provide food assistance to these neighbors to sustain them until they can regain stability. At the Foodbank, we serve anyone who needs our help.
How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Paper surveys, Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
With whom does your organization share the feedback you got from the people you serve?
Our staff, Our board, Our community partners
How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship with them or shifted power - over decisions, resources, rules or in other ways - to them?
Our partner agencies are crucial to our success in food distribution. They help us reach far more people than would be possible with our small paid staff and fleet of trucks alone. By bringing agencies and food assistance recipients into communication circles, we are able to advocate for the financial allocation of resources and programmatic offerings they determine would be most beneficial. They are the ones actually executing and benefiting from our programs, and asking for feedback offers a grassroots approach to designing programs, as opposed to a top-down model. Our partner agencies and those we served are empowered to make appropriate changes and offer first-hand knowledge that will lead to enhanced and strengthened best practices and operations.
What challenges does your organization face in collecting feedback from the people you serve?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to identify actionable feedback
Briefly describe a recent change that your organization made in response to feedback from the people you serve.
In November 2020, we participated in a mapping project in partnership with a local university to determine what portions of our service area were seeing a saturation of food assistance services and which areas lacked adequate access to food distributions. This project also included demographic information to help us improve equity in our services. One aspect of the project was to conduct a survey of different demographic groups to determine how we could provide more culturally appropriate food at our food distributions. From these responses, we now purchase and include specific culturally appropriate food items tailored to these groups at our mobile food pantry and partner agency distributions.
Equity Practices - Data Available - 98/100 ptsEquity Practices - Data Available - 98/100 pts
70% of beacon score
This organization's score of 98 is a passing score. The organization reported that it is implementing 10 Equity Practices. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective equity policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
Equity Practices (5/7) | |
|---|---|
We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race. | |
We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and/or portfolios. | |
We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization/'s programs, portfolios, and the populations served. | |
We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support. | |
We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders. | |
We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured | |
We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization. | |
Equity Policies and Procedures (5/7) | |
|---|---|
We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity. | |
We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions. | |
We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization. | |
We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board. | |
We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability. | |
We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team. | |
We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization. | |
Virginia Peninsula Foodbank has earned a 100% for the Leadership & Adaptability beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon 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.
Learn more
Full CreditPartial CreditNo CreditNot ApplicableMission - 10/10 ptsMission - 10/10 pts
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's mission
Our mission is to distribute food effectively through collaborative efforts that minimize hunger, promote nutrition, and encourage self-reliance through education. Through our partner agencies and programs, we distribute healthy food daily to individuals, families, children, seniors, and veterans who are food insecure.
Vision - 10/10 ptsVision - 10/10 pts
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
Our vision is to contribute positively to the health and well-being of our neighbors while also striving to achieve a hunger-free
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Goals - 20/20 ptsGoals - 20/20 pts
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: To ensure that our community has access to first-quality fruits and vegetables and to partner with local health systems to support healthy eating in populations with chronic medical conditions.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Two: To promote and achieve equity in our food distribution programs, improving access to food assistance for populations previously underserved.
Goal Type: New program(s) based on observed changes in needs among our constituencies/communities served.
Goal Three: To empower those facing hunger to gain access to economic mobility pathways by promoting financial well-being and offering education that will lead to self-sufficiency.
Goal Type: Focus on core programs to achieve mission and scale back on programs not seen as core.
Leadership Development - 15/15 ptsLeadership Development - 15/15 pts
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has diminished the number of opportunities and feasibility of participating in leadership development opportunities that involve travel and in-person formats, we have over the past 12-18 months had senior directors and managers attend virtual conferences hosted by Feeding America that increase leadership skills in the areas of finance, operations, development/fundraising, and child nutrition. We also have staff members that attend seminars convened by food banks of similar size and service levels to share best practices and increase leadership performance. One of our directors has also participated in a national and local cohort regarding leadership of a job training program, and she often presents at these seminars as well as learns from others. Finally, our Chief Operating Officer has served as a mentor for other food banks as they prepare their disaster relief plans, offering leadership and support to help them develop strong, effective strategies.
Mobilizing for Mission - 15/15 ptsMobilizing for Mission - 15/15 pts
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Raising Awareness
Policy Advocacy
Strategic Partnerships: Work with local health systems (hospitals, medical centers) to provide healthy food to patients with chronic conditions and to the community overall to help our neighbors manage and prevent chronic health conditions. Networks: Our organization is a member of local, state, and national networks that center on disaster relief, child nutrition, health policy solutions, community improvement, and workforce education. Our staff participates in roundtable discussions and strategy sessions, offers expert perspective and insights, and takes leadership roles to develop best practices and hone operational policies. Raise Awareness: We consistently use social media as well as print and television media to raise awareness of food insecurity and promote our programs. September is Hunger Action Month featuring focused public information campaigns. Advocacy: We routinely invite elected officials to volunteer and tour our facility - also participate in lobbying days.
Adaptability Story - 30/30 ptsAdaptability Story - 30/30 pts
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly caused us to be flexible and adapt our program operations to a new environment: -With disruptions in the food supply chain and a decrease in grocery donations, we had to allocate more of our operational budget towards the purchase of food items to sustain our agencies and programs. We also must purchase this food more in advance than in prior years to ensure it is available when the need for assistance increases suddenly. -Our Mobile Food Pantry Program has been converted to a drive-through format where food items are boxed and placed directly into a participant's vehicle, as opposed to the assembly-line method we used prior to 2020. This helps us minimize contact and preserve social distancing. Many of our partner agencies also used a socially distanced, drive-through format for distributions as well. -All volunteers are required to fill out a health questionnaire, receive a temperature check, adhere to regular hand washing requirements, and wear masks in order to volunteer in our warehouse facility. -Our child nutrition programs that formerly involved delivering hot prepared meals for children to consume on site have been replaced with a "Grab and Go" delivery format where children are given prepared, but pre-bagged meals that they can take home to eat. -When schools were closed for in-person instruction, we dropped off portable bags of food to nourish children over the weekend (our BackPack Program) to be handed out to families in a drive-through format. When schools are open, these portable bags are delivered directly to participating children to take home themselves. -Although the COVID-19 pandemic caused us to modify program operations for the safety of our community, we are pleased to report that our program models have adapted well to these challenges, and we are still able to distribute food at a high level through these new and innovative practices.
Impact & Results
Accountability & Finance
Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
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