Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Aug 2008.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
72 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
12 people listed on the 990; $50K paid to officers and key staff.
Jama Ross’s $101K as Executive Director is at the 87th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1992 $100K–1M youth development 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jama Ross | $100,700 | $94,000 | $55,833 | — | — | — |
| Kryste Wallen | — | — | $14,875 | $51,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 |
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.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Distributes donated food to feed hungry school-age children in Northeast Indiana.
Questions for Blessings in a Backpack INC
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Provide nutritious food to children through schools in the fort wayne community in a thirty-five week period, increasing the number of backpacks provided by reaching an additional 7% weekly. Our goal is to increase the number of students served on an annual basis, which was challenging to meet in 2020.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $107K | $167K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $107K | $167K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $0 | $0 |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $107K | $167K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $129K | $129K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $50K | $8K | $2K | $40K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $503 | $503 | ||
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $4K | $580 | $193 | $3K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $2K | $2K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $249 | $249 | ||
| TravelLn 17 | $1K | $1K | ||
| Payments to affiliatesLn 21 | $1K | $1K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $765 | $765 | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $2K | $2K | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $190K | $137K | $10K | $43K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $961K | $662K | $299K | $571K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $561K | $441K | $120K | $272K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $332K | $337K | −$5K | $152K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $304K | $288K | $17K | $157K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $227K | $254K | −$27K | $140K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $250K | $190K | $59K | $167K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $249,619 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 11 of 11 board members independent, 4 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $249,619 across 4 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $190,285 across 10 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $166,749 assets, 6 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $166,749 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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