Why I don't take a salary from Feed America

Feed America (EIN 92-1761881) operates without staff payroll. I'm the founder and executive director, and I haven't taken a salary in the five years since I incorporated the organization. Donor dollars go to platform infrastructure (Cloudflare Workers + D1 database serving 275,307 directory listings and 255,820 USDA-authorized SNAP retailers), data verification, community partnerships, and open-data publishing. Feed America files the IRS Form 990-N; see /transparency for filings and how funds are used.

The math of traditional nonprofit overhead

A traditional nonprofit running a directory at our scale would need approximately $200K-500K in annual fundraising to cover salaries before any program work happens. A founder/executive director ($120-180K), a data engineer ($90-255K+), a development associate ($60-90K), administrative + office overhead ($30-50K) — that's the floor before a single record gets verified. We're a 5-person operation in headcount cost, before we've shipped anything.

By starting with infrastructure-as-code and AI-assisted data work, we shipped the same impact (a public food-help directory with interfaces for evaluation by referral services, configured AI clients and researchers) with a fraction of the overhead. The trade-off is real: I'm one person in volunteer capacity. We can't take grant requests that require dedicated grant-management staff. We can't do major-donor cultivation calendars or capital campaigns. But we can do the directory work at scale.

Why donors should care

Foundation grant officers and major-gift advisors look closely at how a nonprofit uses funds. Feed America files the IRS Form 990-N (e-Postcard), which does not report a revenue or expense breakdown; see /transparency for filings and how funds are used. To request the financial statements that are available, email info@feedam.org.

What "no salary" doesn't mean

"No salary" doesn't mean "no work." I work full-time on Feed America. It also doesn't mean the model is sustainable indefinitely without compensation — eventually, the organization needs to pay key staff to scale beyond what one founder can sustain. The current model is a deliberate choice for the early-stage / infrastructure-building phase, not a permanent operating model.

It also doesn't mean we cut corners on quality. We invest aggressively in data verification (geocode validation, phone normalization, hours parsing, user reports reviewed by people), open standards compliance (HSDS 3.0, OpenAPI 3.0, MCP), bilingual parity (full Spanish across all editorial pages), and filing transparency (IRS filings public, financial statements available on request). The infrastructure-first model frees up budget to do MORE of the program work, not less.

The foundation grant question

Some foundation grant officers ask: "How can a nonprofit run without staff payroll?" The honest answer: it can't, forever. The current model is a phase, not a permanent operating model. As Feed America grows, we'll bring on paid staff for roles that scale poorly with one volunteer founder (partner-pantry outreach to claim listings; dedicated grant management; major-donor cultivation; media + press operations).

For now, the infrastructure-first phase is how we build the technical + data foundation. Once that foundation is mature, paid staff investment makes sense.

What this means for our 2026 Candid Platinum Seal

Feed America holds the 2026 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency. The Candid profile is self-reported by the organization; foundation officers and journalists can review it directly at app.candid.org.

If you're considering donating: list EIN 92-1761881 on every gift instrument. Donate to Feed America →

— Sharika Parkes
Founder, Feed America
Houston, TX