18 Reasons
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Our mission is to empower our community with the confidence and creativity needed to buy, cook, and eat good food every day.
- Income
- $4.2 million
- Spending
- $3.6 million
- Spent on programs
- 84%
- Reserves
- 3.8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 40%
- Employees
- 26
- Volunteers
- 300
- Highest pay
- $142,693, executive dir.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 81 out of 100. Higher than 61% of charities in its peer group (food and agriculture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 3.8 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 22% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 16% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 56% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1584% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 12 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 74% of charities in its peer group (food and agriculture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2514 of 17 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (5)
- $830,253 spent. At our Community Cooking School, community residents can take basic cooking classes, attend community dinners, and learn about food, cooking, and social issues surrounding food. Over 2,000 people attended classes and programming at our Community Cooking School in 2023. Classes are offered on a fee-for-service basis, with scholarships and sliding scale fees offered for each class. All proceeds from the classes benefit the Cooking Matters Program.
- $796,205 spent. Food as Medicine helps low-income Medi-Cal patients with diet sensitive conditions learn cooking, nutrition, and household planning and budgeting skills that help them take control of their health. For up to twelve months, patients receive weekly boxes of home-delivered healthy groceries, sourced from local farms and grocery partners. Each week, patients attend an online cooking and nutrition class led by a primary care doctor and an 18 Reasons staff member. The program is a partnership between 18 Reasons and Contra Costa Health as part of the new statewide CalAIM initiative to use Medi-Cal funds to address social determinants of health, including food and housing. Graduates of our Food as Medicine program reported lower blood sugar levels, lower BMI, and less dependance on medication to control their diabetes.
- $778,501 spent. Our Cooking Matters program offers free cooking and nutrition classes to low-income adults, children, and families. Each series of classes meet once a week for six weeks. Each class is two hours long, and is taught by a team consisting of a chef, a nutrition instructor, and a class assistant. We seek out volunteers with skills in cooking and nutrition to teach these classes, and we also train and employ graduates of our Cooking Matters as peer health educators to fill these roles. Cooking Matters classes are held at locations that offer other services to low-income families, such as shelters, schools, clinics, community centers, and subsidized housing sites. These agencies and organizations recruit participants for the classes, and we bring the instructors, food, curricula, and cooking equipment. At the end of each six-week series, we conduct an evaluation that measures positive behavior changes including increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, and an increased use of nutrition skills and knowledge when making decisions about food. In 2021, we conducted 86 six-week series of classes, taught by approximately 300 volunteers and 18 peer health educators, at 51 different locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, reaching over 2,000 people. Each Cooking Matters graduate takes a validated test at the beginning and end of their series to measure their food insecurity score and their behaviors and attitudes related to healthy eating. 18 Reasons effects all of the below changes in participants' lives in only 6 weeks. In our most recent data, our graduates report increased consumption of healthy foods, with 74% of graduates eating more vegetables, 78% eating more fruit, and 88% are prepping healthy meals more often at home. Graduates report a 52% decrease in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and an 85% increase in drinking water. Graduates are able to access more healthy food by learning to stretch their food dollars; 68% plan meals ahead of time and shop with a grocery list more often to save money at the store, 97% use the nutrition facts label more often, and 74% feel they can afford to buy more fruits and vegetables with their existing food budget as a result of the shopping skills we teach. Food insecurity in the Bay Area drops by 1% each year as the wealth in our area grows, whereas 18 Reasons is able to reduce food insecurity among our low-income participants by 12% in just 6 weeks because of the food resource management skills we teach. In 2021, we distributed over 25,000 pounds of groceries through our Cooking Matters classes, and we are on track to significantly increase that number with each year that passes. We receive about 5 new partner applications for Cooking Matters each month, meaning that demand for our programs is high. We are glad to be a local leader in food education, and the demand for our services shows us we are offering the community programs they want. Our data show us we are offering evidence-based programs proven to create lasting behavior change.
- $566,012 spent. Nourishing Pregnancy is a 16 week program for Black and Latinx birthing parents during the last trimester of pregnancy and first months postpartum. Classes, workshops, cooking and nutrition education, peer support, and free groceries work together to improve health and well being for parent and child. Nourishing Pregnancy launched in 2021 to address the disparities and urgent needs of BIPOC birthers in our community. In San Francisco, 20% of Black/27% of Latinx women experience food insecurity during pregnancy, compared to almost 0% for white women. A Black infant is twice as likely to be born prematurely (14% versus 7% for White infants). Black women are more than three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications as white women, regardless of their income or education. Black, Latinx, and Pacific Islander women are also more likely to experience gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and peripartum mood disorders including postpartum depression. As a community nonprofit at the intersection of food and health,18 Reasons is uniquely positioned to deliver both cooking and nutrition education and a structure for maternal health classes and workshops. Over 16 weeks, Nourishing Pregnancy offers nutrition skills and pre- and postnatal classes while peer support helps parents build relationships and support networks that will last beyond pregnancy. All birthers receive free groceries for the duration of the program, which can significantly offset food insecurity during those vulnerable months. To supplement our nutrition and food skills expertise, 18 Reasons partners with doulas, lactation consultants, postpartum depression experts, and sleep and exercise practitioners.
- $44,148 spent. Fiscally spoored organizations.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since February 2012.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.