Charity Navigator - Rating for Project Angel Food

501(c)(3) organization

Donations are tax-deductible

http://www.angelfood.org

922 VINE ST
Los Angeles CA 90038-2702

Los Angeles CA | IRS ruling year: 1992 | EIN: 95-4115863

Project Angel Food prepares and delivers healthy meals to feed people impacted by serious illness, bringing comfort and hope every day.

Rating Information

Great

This charity's score is 96%, 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: 85% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability, 5% Culture & Community. Learn more about our criteria and methodology.

Beacon Weights

Historical Ratings

Important note on the timeliness of ratings

The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Accountability & Finance score for Project Angel Food is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations.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.

Rating Report

Impact & Results
Accountability & Finance
Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability

Impact & ResultsAccountability & FinanceCulture & CommunityLeadership & Adaptability

Accountability & Finance

Project Angel Food has earned a 96% 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

Accountability and Transparency

Full Credit

Partial Credit

No Credit

Not Applicable

Governance

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)
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)
Does not Compensate Board Members ... (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

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: 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

CEO Salary Listed on 990 ... (More)
Board of Directors Listed on Website ... (More)
Key Staff Listed on Website ... (More)
Audited Financial Statements Listed on Website ... (More)
Form 990 Available on Website ... (More)

Financial Metrics

Full Credit

Partial Credit

No Credit

Not Applicable

Liabilities to Assets Ratio - 26.50% - 5/10 pts

Working Capital Ratio - 1.98 years - 10/10 pts

Fundraising Efficiency - $0.06 - 10/10 pts

Administrative Expense Ratio - 7.80% - 10/10 pts

Fundraising Expense Ratio - 9.10% - 10/10 pts

Program Expense Ratio - 82.90% - 9.4/10 pts

Program Expense Growth - 18.48% - 10/10 pts

Unscored Information

Total Revenue and Expenses - Data Available

Salary of Key Persons - Data Available

IRS Published Data (Business Master File) - Data Available

Data Sources (IRS Forms 990) - Data Available

Pandemic Response - Data Available

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.

Project Angel Food reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:

Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Staffing

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

"No client will ever miss a meal" became our rallying cry that got us through even the most challenging days of COVID. Project Angel Food’s expenses rose 32%year-to-year. Adding staff to replace volunteers (8 new chefs, 9 gig workers as kitchen assistants, food packers, and drivers) cost an additional $60,000+ expense each month. We also purchased Personal Protection Equipment to keep our employees and clients safe; added facility filtration, plexiglass protections in work stations, to adapt to change to operate during this prolonged and turbulent pandemic. Revenue also increased as Project Angel Food supporters heard our urgent call and stepped up to keep our doors open, increase service, and reduce food insecurity for L.A.’s critically ill in the moment and into the future - no matter what. During this time we never lost sight of being responsible stewards of our funding, 86 cents of every dollar went directly to our meal delivery program, and improvement from the previous year.

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

Project Angel Food provided Medically Tailored Meals to critically ill men, women and children. Designated an essential service by the City of Los Angeles early in the pandemic, Project Angel Food's client intake skyrocketed from 75 new enrollments per month pre-pandemic; to at times over 200 per month. We grew from delivering to 1,500 people per day pre-pandemic; to 2,400 people per day currently. In addition to our Medically Tailored Meals and Nutritional Counseling, we moved swiftly to ensure all clients had essentials needed to protect them from COVID-19 including: 3 weeks of shelf stable meals, extra frozen meals, masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and greeting cards to combat isolation. We added drivers, and purchased additional refrigerated delivery vans. To reach clients in all 4,700 square miles of L.A. county, we added delivery routes from 37 in early 2020, to 52 today.

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

As previously stated, we suspended our Project Angel Food kitchen volunteeer program in the kitchen for the first time in our 31 year history. Without the 4,700 volunteers in the kitchen, we pivoted by hiring staff to fill the void. Not only did this allow us to continue our meal delivery program uninterrupted, it also provided employment for chefs and gig workers in Los Angeles who would otherwise be unemployed. Project Angel Food went nine months of the pandemic, without one single case of COVID because of our stringent mitigation efforts. With surge of COVID during the winter of 2020, and early 2021, we found we were not immune to loss. One of our beloved chefs died of COVID in January. We pushed to get our staff vaccinated in the early wave of availability for essential workers.

Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:

We recognize that the record number of clients served because of the COVID pandemic is our new normal. We are now focused on longterm sustainability in providing quality Medically Tailored Meals, personal connection, and increased health and mental wellbeing outcomes for the critically ill of Los Angeles. We have reintroduced volunteers into our meal production process, which is part of our legacy, but are limiting that number as we continue to be vigilant with COVID safety protocols, and find that the professional chefs allow us to produce a quality product more cost effectively. Love and compassion continue to drive our mission, fiscal responsibility allows us to reach more people in need and improve and save lives. Additionally, our Telephone Angels program, which was created to help clients feel less isolated and alone during the pandemic has worked. 90% of participate in the program report they they feel less depressed and more hopeful about life. This program will continue.

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Date Published	Form 990 FYE	Overall Score	Overall Rating
Rating Version: 2.1
10/1/2021	2020	95.50
5/1/2020	2019	93.81
11/1/2019	2018	85.20
10/1/2019	2018	85.04
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.
9/1/2018	2017	81.20
11/1/2017	2016	81.00
4/1/2017	2015	81.15
10/1/2016	2015	80.96
6/1/2016	2014	80.64

Rating Version: 2.0
11/1/2015	2014	80.33
11/1/2014	2013	80.38
12/1/2013	2012	79.98
11/6/2012	2011	78.60
9/20/2011	2010	81.13

Rating Version: 1.0
11/1/2010	2009	82.22
9/1/2009	2008	79.20
7/1/2008	2007	81.76
7/1/2007	2006	76.58
7/1/2006	2005	74.98
3/1/2005	2004	56.62
3/1/2004	2003	54.06
11/1/2003	2002	65.27
10/15/2002	2001	65.15

Project Angel Food