Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 2008.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
79 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
18 people listed on the 990; $559K paid to officers and key staff.
Erin Kerr’s $220K as Chief Executive Officer is at the 53rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3122 $10–100M human services nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooke Wiseman | — | — | — | — | $226,020 |
| Erin Kerr | $219,872 | $205,961 | $196,111 | $181,800 | $139,417 |
| Otis Usher | $169,349 | $160,792 | $157,585 | $110,518 | — |
| Elizabeth Grizzle | $165,281 | $121,183 | — | — | — |
| Beth Murnane | — | — | $148,187 | $135,509 | — |
| Kevin Beam | — | — | — | — | $137,717 |
| Susan Kane | — | — | — | — | $135,935 |
| Nikki Grizzle | — | — | — | $131,132 | $120,167 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
See Blessings in a Backpack INC executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Mobilizes communities and volunteers to provide bags of nutritious food for school-aged children across America to prevent hunger over the weekends.
Questions for Blessings in a Backpack INC
Your first name shows with your question. Blessings in a Backpack INC answers here, for everyone.
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What motivates them?Asked by fengling · 1 person is interested
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Who makes the decision?Asked by fengling · 1 person is interested
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Why do they participate?Asked by fengling · 1 person is interested
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Why don't they return?Asked by fengling · 1 person is interested
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Who funds you?0 people are interested
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Who returns?Asked by fengling · 0 people are interested
This year, it's projected that nine million american school-aged children are struggling with food insecurity. That's one in eight children who don't know from where their next meal will come. During the school week, these children eat meals at school, but are without access to affordable, healthy food on saturday and sunday.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2022 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY22 | End FY22 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $15.1M | $13.9M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $21K | $52K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $15.5M | $14.5M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $643K | $895K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $14.8M | $13.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $8.6M | $8.6M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $236K | $103K | $64K | $69K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $2.4M | $811K | $683K | $863K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $4K | $1K | $1K | $1K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $138K | $53K | $38K | $47K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $196K | $71K | $55K | $70K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $22K | $22K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $35K | $35K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $246K | $83K | $63K | $100K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $177K | $96K | $8K | $74K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $203K | $75K | $51K | $76K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $73K | $6K | $56K | $10K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $229K | $34K | $36K | $159K |
| TravelLn 17 | $52K | $13K | $16K | $23K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $11K | $11K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $55K | $20K | $16K | $20K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $34K | $9K | $19K | $7K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $12.7M | $10.0M | $1.2M | $1.5M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS Nov 11, 2025 | $13.7M | $13.9M | −$197K | $10.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Nov 13, 2024 | $14.4M | $15.6M | −$1.1M | $10.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 14, 2023 | $13.2M | $15.5M | −$2.3M | $11.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 15, 2022 | $11.5M | $12.7M | −$1.2M | $13.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 12, 2021 | $13.3M | $10.1M | $3.3M | $14.8M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2022 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $11,518,539 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 14 of 14 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $11,518,539 across 9 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $12,698,350 across 17 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $14,548,161 assets, 16 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $13,652,797 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2022 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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