Mercy Chefs
Mercy Chefs reported $25.4 million in revenue and $19.6 million in expenses for calendar year 2024. Of every $100 it spent, $89.44 went to program services, $5.04 to management and general costs and $5.52 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 99.1% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $275,400 (FOUNDER/CEO). 5 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 784% between 2019 and 2024. Source: Form 990, 2024.
Where $100 of spending went
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $20MFor context, the median across 3,614 covered human services charities: $88.27 programs, $11.52 management, $0.21 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $25MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | 2024 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 89.4% | 87.2% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 5.0% | 11.4% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 5.5% | 0.2% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.04 | $0.02 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 99.1% | 20.6% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 2.4% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 70.8% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $275,400 | $274,992 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 1.40% | 1.18% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 9.5 | 6.9 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 5 of 6 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
2024 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseDisaster relief & long-term recovery: we respond to natural disasters and national emergencies at a moment's notice. On deployment, our professional chefs prepare high- quality, hot meals on a mass scale-up to 20,000 meals a day-for victims, volunteers, and first responders. Community kitchens: Mercy Chefs' cofounder inspired the development of our community kitchens. She recognized our organization's responsibility to put our resources, volunteers, and skills to use outside of disasters to feed food-insecure populations across the country. Food insecurity response: Mercy Chefs has delivered…
Highest reported compensation
2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOUNDER/CEO Director/trustee, officer, 60.00 hrs/week | $275,400 | $0 | $0 | $275,400 |
| CO-FOUNDER Key employee, 60.00 hrs/week | $200,200 | $0 | $0 | $200,200 |
| CH ADVANCEME Key employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $180,269 | $0 | $0 | $180,269 |
| CHIEF CULINA Key employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $160,262 | $0 | $0 | $160,262 |
| CFO Director/trustee, 40.00 hrs/week | $156,615 | $0 | $0 | $156,615 |
5 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Mercy Chefs (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $973K (Part IX, line 5).
6 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
2024 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b6 · 5 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4No
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18Yes
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
- Employees Part I, line 598
- Volunteers Part I, line 64,239
Private foundation grants it received
55 private foundations reported grants to Mercy Chefs totaling $703K on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from Mercy Chefs's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Mercy Chefs, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
Share or embed this breakdown
Of every $100 Mercy Chefs spent in 2024, $89.44 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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All human services charities · Largest charities in Virginia
Questions people ask
How much of Mercy Chefs's spending goes to programs?
In calendar year 2024, Mercy Chefs reported that 89.4% of its $19.6 million in expenses went to program services, 5.0% to management and general and 5.5% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Mercy Chefs pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Mercy Chefs reported for one person in calendar year 2024 was $275,400, for the role of FOUNDER/CEO (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Mercy Chefs get its money?
Of $25.4 million in revenue in calendar year 2024, 99.1% came from contributions and grants and 0.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Mercy Chefs a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 20-5050449 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- 2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202543219349318989 · read the filing · XML
- 2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202403209349313795 · read the filing
- 2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202313189349309346 · read the filing
- 2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202203199349323155 · read the filing
- 2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202122299349301567 · read the filing
- 2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202012859349300306 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 20-5050449: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.