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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.

Exceptional

This charity's score is 92.35, earning it a 4-Star rating. Donors can "Give with Confidence" to this charity.

This score is calculated from two sub-scores:

Finance: 89.19 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

93.0%

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

2.6%

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

4.3%

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

18.8%

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

$0.04

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

0.72 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

4.69%

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 W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting

Beverlee Potter, Executive Director

$104,357 (0.61% of Total Expenses)

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:

Other inner city or community benefit activities (BMF activity code: 429)

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.

Food For Lane County reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:

Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Revenue
Staffing
Balance Sheet

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

Most of our major fundraising events had to be cancelled in 2020, and have not returned (including Chefs' Night Out and the Empty Bowls Sale). We have been able to pivot and hold some events virtually (including our Empty Bowls Auction in September 2020 and September 2021), or transform physical food drives into telethons or online fundraising events. Luckily, the Lane County community recognizes and has generously supported the work of FFLC during COVID-19, and during the wildfires in September 2020. We are also working to complete our Capital Campaign, which started in 2017 and had to be paused during COVID-19. FFLC received CARES Act funding via both FEMA & CSBG for the purposes of purchasing food. We also received funding from the State of Oregon to purchase food.

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

We focused our efforts on maintaining the flow of food to pantries, meal sites and shelters because these programs reach the largest number of people in the safest manner. Food pantries switched to pre-packed food boxes. Meal sites continue to provide carry-out meals only. We temporarily suspended distribution at all but one Produce Plus (PP) site and all Extra Helping (EH) sites. At these sites, produce and bread are set out on tables in offices, clinics and affordable housing sites. Since last year, six PP sites have re-opened, and there are now 33 functioning EH sites (the pre-pandemic level was 42). In the Spring of 2020, we launched mobile pop-up food pantries in four communities: Springfield, Eugene, Cottage Grove and Oakridge, distributing emergency food boxes one night per week in each community. As a result, we are re-launching the Mobile Pantry program through which we are hoping to reach vulnerable populations including BIPOC, LGBTQI and immigrant communities.

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

We focused our efforts on maintaining the flow of food to pantries, meal sites and shelters because these programs reach the largest number of people in the safest manner. Food pantries switched to pre-packed food boxes. Meal sites continue to provide carry-out meals only. We temporarily suspended distribution at all but one Produce Plus (PP) site and all Extra Helping (EH) sites. At these sites, produce and bread are set out on tables in offices, clinics and affordable housing sites. Since last year, six PP sites have re-opened, and there are now 33 functioning EH sites (the pre-pandemic level was 42). In the Spring of 2020, we launched mobile pop-up food pantries in four communities: Springfield, Eugene, Cottage Grove and Oakridge, distributing emergency food boxes one night per week in each community. We transitioned our Gardening and Nutrition classes to an online format, and transformed our plant sales and some fundraising events online.

Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:

The Mobile Pantry program (launched permanently in September 2021) focuses on serving marginalized communities and geographic areas with high need in an effort to supplement and promote other hunger-relief agencies. Through collaborations with partners and local communities the mobile pantry works to increase food security through an equitable, sustainable, and accessible mobile pantry model while incubating self-sufficient local solutions to hunger.

Historical Ratings

Date Published	Form 990 FYE	Overall Score	Overall Rating
Rating Version: 2.1
11/1/2020	2019	92.35
9/3/2019	2018	90.61
9/1/2018	2017	92.87
12/1/2017	2016	91.61
10/1/2016	2015	94.03
6/1/2016	2014	93.46

Rating Version: 2.0
10/1/2015	2014	87.54
10/1/2014	2013	91.18
8/1/2013	2012	93.99
5/1/2012	2011	94.80
9/20/2011	2010	85.51

Rating Version: 1.0
4/1/2011	2010	81.46
5/1/2010	2009	81.09
12/1/2009	2008	75.45
8/1/2009	2007	86.54
7/1/2008	2006	81.65
9/1/2006	2005	87.01
6/1/2005	2004	89.11
10/1/2004	2003	91.95
4/15/2003	2002	92.01

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

Food For Lane County is , earning a passing score.

Impact

$2 provides a meal to a person in need.

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Impact & Results Report

100

of 100 points

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Rated Program

Program

Emergency Food Box Program, The Dining Room, Supplemental Food Programs, Senior Grocery, Meals on Wheels, Children's Weekend Snack Pack, Cereal for Youth and Summer Food Program

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