Celebrating 30 years of helping you give wisely
America's most independent,
assertive charity watchdog
Top Rated

City Harvest

CharityWatch report issued
March 2021

Top-Rated Charity
A-
CharityWatch Grade
Our independent grade based
on a number of factors.
 
75%
Program Percentage
Amount spent on programs
relative to overhead.
 
$12
Cost to Raise $100
Amount spent to raise
$100 of contributions.

Contact Information

City Harvest
6 East 32nd Street
5th Floor
New York, NY 10016

Other Names

None

Tax Status

501(c)3

Stated Mission

To end hunger in communities throughout New York City through food rescue and distribution, education, and other practical, innovative solutions.

View similar charities
Data based on Fiscal Year Ended 06/30/2020

Program Percentage: 75%

The percentage of City Harvest's cash budget it spends on programs relative to overhead (fundraising, management, and general expenses).

$41,000,000

Calculated Total Expenses

(rounded)

 

Cost to Raise $100: $12

How many dollars City Harvest spends on fundraising to raise each $100 of contributions.

$76,000,000

Calculated Total Contributions

(rounded)

Government Funding

0% to 24%

Percentage of cash revenue
coming from government sources

 

Financial Documents

Entity Document Type Tax ID
City Harvest IRS Form 990 13-3170676
City Harvest Audited Financial Statements 13-3170676
Entity: City Harvest
Document Type: IRS Form 990
Tax ID: 13-3170676
Entity: City Harvest
Document Type: Audited Financial Statements
Tax ID: 13-3170676

Governance & Transparency

CharityWatch evaluates certain criteria related to a charity's Governance and Transparency. Donors may want to consider a charity's willingness to be open and transparent with CharityWatch to be a good litmus test for determining its commitment to public accountability.
This charity is Top-Rated
What does it mean to be Top-Rated?
 
City Harvest
meets governance benchmarks.
 
City Harvest
meets transparency benchmarks.
Transparency
Provides Financial Information
Audit Accessibility
Governance: Policies
Reports regularly & consistently monitoring & enforcing compliance with a written Conflict of Interest Policy
Reports required, annual disclosure by officers, directors, and key staff of interests that could give rise to conflicts
Reports having a written Whistleblower Policy
Reports having a written Document Retention and Destruction Policy
Governance: Financials
Reports providing copy of tax form to all board members prior to filing it with IRS
Reports that financial statements were audited by an independent accountant
Governance: Board of Directors
Reports at least 5 voting board members
51% or more of voting board members reported as independent
Reports documenting minutes of board and board committee meetings
Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy Opt-Out Policy  

  Name Title Compensation
1 Jilly Stephens CEO $419,923
2 Gregory Boroff Chief External Relations Officer $356,343
3 Jennifer McLean COO $342,018
1
Name: Jilly Stephens
Title: CEO
Compensation: $419,923
2
Name: Gregory Boroff
Title: Chief External Relations Officer
Compensation: $356,343
3
Name: Jennifer McLean
Title: COO
Compensation: $342,018

CharityWatch Analysts perform an in-depth analysis of charities' audited financial statements and IRS tax filings, and often review other documents such as state filings, annual reports, and fundraising contracts during their evaluations. Below are select notes that CharityWatch believes may be of interest to donors.

According to the City Harvest audit of June 30, 2020 (Note 7, In-Kind Contributions), City Harvest received approximately 78.5 million pounds of donated food on which it placed a total value of $131,989,473 during fiscal 2020. In addition, City Harvest received donated in-kind services and supplies in fiscal 2020 on which it placed a total value of $2,522,626, including $2,238,379 in "donated advertising services for public service announcements."

[Note: CharityWatch generally excludes the value of in-kind (non-cash) donations of goods and services from its calculations of Program % and Cost to Raise $100. More information on how grades are calculated and the treatment of in-kind donations can be found on the Our Process page.]

According to the City Harvest audit of June 30, 2020 (Note 1 re: Nature of Activities):

"This year, City Harvest has launched a $60 million capital campaign to fund the renovation of and move to City Harvest's new headquarters in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. This new location will allow City Harvest to unite its operational, programmatic and administrative staffs in one space. It will position City Harvest to work more efficiently, and rescue and deliver, free of charge, a greater volume of food to meet the need for food assistance that existed in New York City before COVID-19 and has grown dramatically following the pandemic and resulting economic crisis."

According to the City Harvest audit of June 30, 2020 (Note 12, Subsequent Events):

"City Harvest evaluated its June 30, 2020 financial statements for subsequent events through November 10, 2020, the date the financial statements were available to be issued...

"The COVID-19 pandemic, whose effects first became known in January 2020, is having a broad and negative impact on commerce and financial markets around the world. The extent of the impact of COVID-19 on City Harvest's operational and financial performance will depend on certain developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak and its impact on its donors, employees and vendors, all of which at present cannot be determined. Accordingly, the extent to which COVID-19 may impact City Harvest's financial position and changes in net assets and cash flows is uncertain and the accompanying [audited] financial statements include no adjustments relating to the effects of this pandemic."

According to the City Harvest tax filing for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, City Harvest reports re: Compensation, Supplemental Information (IRS Form 990, Schedule J, Part III):

Regarding severance payments to officers, directors, trustees, key employees and highest compensated employees (Schedule J, Part I, Line 4a):

"Senior Organization Specialist, Kate MacKenzie, received a severance payment of $60,000 in calendar year 2019; this amount has been reported in Schedule J, Part II Column B(iii) ['Other reportable compensation']."

The reported total compensation for Kate MacKenzie in calendar year 2019 is $193,132 (IRS Form 990, Schedule J, Part II).


Regarding nonfixed payments to officers, directors, trustees, key employees and highest compensated employees (Schedule J, Part I, Line 7):

"City Harvest offers its employees a non-fixed discretionary bonus if certain performance metrics are met:  a revenue goal metric and a 'pounds-rescued' metric. If those metrics are met, the CEO, Ms. Stephens, makes recommendations to the executive committee of the board of the bonuses that should be awarded. The executive committee has the discretion to make adjustments to those bonuses as needed."


City Harvest reports "Bonus & incentive compensation" payments to six individuals in calendar year 2019. Three individuals received $35,000 each:

(1) Gregory Boroff, Chief External Relations Officer, with reported total compensation of $356,343.
(2) Jennifer McLean, COO, with reported total compensation of $342,018.
(3) Renee Richardson, CFAO, with reported total compensation of $331,236.

The remaining "Bonus & incentive compensation" payments were $13,000, received by two individuals, and $3,500 received by one individual. The reported total compensation in calendar year 2019 for those three individuals ranges from $206,732 to $154,216 (IRS Form 990, Schedule J, Part II).