Structure Overview

How FoodFund is built —
and why it’s built this way.

FoodFund is a hunger relief content network. We believe the most powerful fundraising tool in existence is a content creator with an authentic story and an audience that trusts them. Everything about how we’re built — legally, financially, and operationally — is designed to make that belief sustainable and trustworthy for everyone it touches.

The Foundation & The Platform

FoodFund Foundation and FoodFund Inc.
are two separate legal entities.

They have distinct roles, separate finances, and a formal agreement governing the relationship between them. Understanding this structure is the foundation of understanding how donor funds are protected.

Charitable entity

FoodFund
Foundation

  • Holds the charitable mission of the FoodFund network
  • Receives and processes donations from the public
  • Issues tax receipts for qualifying contributions
  • Maintains donor funds in segregated charitable accounts
  • Disburses funds to verified food bank partners
  • Governed by a board with majority independent directors
  • Registers as required for charitable fundraising compliance
  • Publishes governance documents, fees, and impact reports

501(c)(3) application pending. This page will be updated when IRS determination is received.

For-profit entity

FoodFund
Inc.

  • Owns and operates the FoodFund technology platform
  • Owns the codebase, trademarks, and brand assets
  • Manages creator contracts and creator relationships
  • Pays creators from its own commercial revenue
  • Charges the Foundation a technology service fee under a formal agreement
  • Handles commercial scaling and third-party investment

FoodFund Inc. does not receive charitable donations, does not hold charitable assets, and does not direct charitable disbursements.

Why this structure exists

Separating the charitable mission from the commercial platform protects donors. It ensures charitable funds are held and disbursed under nonprofit governance requirements, independent of commercial pressure or investor interests.

It also allows the technology platform to develop and scale as a commercial enterprise — which is the appropriate structure for a technology-driven operation seeking investment and managing creator relationships at scale. The two entities serve complementary functions. They are not interchangeable, and they are not interchangeably controlled.

On the inter-entity agreement FoodFund Inc. charges the Foundation a technology service fee under a written agreement. This fee is a Foundation operating expense, not a deduction from charitable funds. The agreement is reviewed and approved by the Foundation’s independent directors — not by the founder. See Governance for how this conflict is managed.
Donor Fund Protection

How donor funds are protected

When someone gives through FoodFund, their contribution follows a defined path governed by policy, not discretion.

  • Segregated charitable accounts

    Donations are deposited into FoodFund Foundation’s designated charitable account. This account is maintained separately from the Foundation’s operating funds and has no connection to FoodFund Inc.’s commercial accounts. Funds cannot be swept or transferred to cover operating expenses.

  • Charitable funds never pay creator or platform costs

    Creator fees are paid by FoodFund Inc. from its own commercial revenue. The technology service fee paid by the Foundation to FoodFund Inc. comes from Foundation operating funds — not from the charitable pool. Donations flow only to verified food bank partners.

  • Disbursements within 30 days after month-end

    Funds are not held longer than operationally required. After each calendar month closes, the Foundation processes and disburses net proceeds to active food bank partners within 30 days. This schedule is a formal policy, not a best-efforts target.

  • Tax receipts issued for every qualifying contribution

    FoodFund Foundation issues a tax receipt for every qualifying contribution at the time of processing. Donors receive confirmation through the platform immediately. Receipts reflect the Foundation’s legal entity name and EIN once IRS determination is confirmed.

  • Stripe processes all payments at nonprofit pricing

    All donations are processed by Stripe. FoodFund Foundation uses Stripe’s nonprofit pricing tier (2.2% + $0.30 per transaction). No payment data is handled by FoodFund servers directly. Stripe’s infrastructure provides PCI-compliant payment security.

Fee Structure

We publish our fees openly.

Every donation is subject to two fees before the balance reaches a food bank. Here is exactly what they are, where they go, and what reaches the food bank.

Fee 1 of 2

Stripe payment processing

2.2% + $0.30 per transaction. This is Stripe’s nonprofit rate. It covers payment network costs, fraud protection, and payment infrastructure. FoodFund Foundation does not retain any portion of this fee. It is paid directly to Stripe.

Fee 2 of 2

FoodFund platform fee

4% of the donation amount. Paid to FoodFund Inc. under the technology services agreement. Covers the cost of operating, maintaining, and developing the platform infrastructure that enables charitable giving at scale. Reviewed and approved by the Foundation’s independent directors.

Worked examples

Donation amount $25.00
Stripe processing 2.2% + $0.30
−$0.85
FoodFund platform fee 4%
−$1.00
Net to food bank 92.6% $23.15
Donation amount $100.00
Stripe processing 2.2% + $0.30
−$2.50
FoodFund platform fee 4%
−$4.00
Net to food bank 93.5% $93.50

Calculate any amount

Enter a donation amount to see the exact breakdown. All math uses the same rates as the worked examples above.

Donation amount $50.00
Stripe processing 2.2% + $0.30
−$1.40
FoodFund platform fee 4%
−$2.00
Net to food bank 92.6% $46.60

Calculated values are approximate. Stripe’s effective rate may vary slightly based on card type, dispute history, and account tier. The platform fee rate is set by the inter-entity services agreement in effect at the time of the donation.

On the net-to-cause ratio Approximately 93–94 cents of every dollar donated reaches the food bank on typical donation sizes. We consider this a competitive ratio for a fully managed digital giving platform and we make no attempt to obscure it. The platform fee funds the infrastructure that makes large-scale hunger relief giving possible. Both figures are published here and on our Financial Transparency page.
Food Bank Partner Verification

Partnership is verified, not assumed.

Every food bank that receives disbursements from FoodFund Foundation is verified before activation and must meet the following minimum standards on an ongoing basis.

  • Verified 501(c)(3) status in good standing with the IRS at the time of onboarding and on an ongoing basis. Status is confirmed against IRS records before the first disbursement and reviewed at each annual cycle.
  • Written consent on file before the organization’s name, logo, or identity is used in any solicitation, promotional, or public fundraising context. No partner is named publicly until this consent is signed and filed.
  • A completed partnership agreement reviewed by FoodFund Foundation. The agreement establishes the terms of the active charity partner relationship, disbursement expectations, and the rotating partnership model.
  • Ongoing standing. The Foundation maintains the right to suspend or end a partnership if an organization’s 501(c)(3) status lapses, if consent is withdrawn, or if the organization no longer meets the Foundation’s standards. Affected donors are notified.
The rotating partnership model

FoodFund Foundation’s active partner roster changes over time. This is by design. The rotating model allows the Foundation to direct giving to where need is greatest, respond to seasonal and regional hunger patterns, and partner with organizations that are meaningful to the creator communities raising funds. Each impact report will identify which organizations received disbursements in the relevant period and in what amounts.

Partners as content collaborators

Food bank partners are not simply recipients of funding. They are mission destinations and content partners in the FoodFund network. With their consent, partner organizations participate in creator storytelling that explains their work, their communities, and the impact of the giving. This is the core of the FoodFund content vertical model — creators telling real stories about real organizations doing real work.

View partner standards and apply
Governance & Conflict of Interest

The Foundation is governed by a board,
not by a single founder.

Governance structure and conflict-of-interest policy are what separate a well-structured nonprofit from one that operates on trust alone. We have both.

The conflict-of-interest policy

FoodFund Foundation maintains a written conflict-of-interest policy. Under this policy, any director who has a personal or financial interest in a matter before the board — including any vote on agreements between the Foundation and FoodFund Inc. — is required to:

  • Disclose the interest to the full board before any deliberation
  • Abstain from discussion on the matter to the extent appropriate
  • Recuse themselves from the vote entirely
  • Have the recusal documented in board minutes

This means that any vote approving the inter-entity services agreement — the mechanism by which FoodFund Inc. is paid a technology fee by the Foundation — is decided by independent directors only. The founder does not vote on agreements that financially benefit the commercial entity they also control.

A note on the founder’s dual role

The founder of FoodFund may serve on the Foundation’s board while also managing FoodFund Inc. This is a common and legally recognized structure in founder-led nonprofit organizations. It is not itself a conflict. What matters — and what we have structured carefully — is that this relationship is acknowledged, governed by written policy, and restricted in the situations where it would create a genuine conflict of interest. The independent directors are not ornamental. They have the votes that matter on the decisions that matter.

Available documents

The following documents are available upon written request and will be made publicly available as required under applicable law and Foundation policy:

  • Conflict-of-interest policy
  • Board meeting minutes (subject to applicable exemptions)
  • Inter-entity services agreement summary
  • IRS Form 990 (once filed and available)

Meet the Board of Directors →

Questions about our structure are welcome.

We designed this page because institutional trust has to be earned through transparency, not asserted through marketing. If you are a funder, regulator, food bank partner, or journalist with questions about how FoodFund Foundation is structured and governed, we welcome direct inquiry.

Funder & Diligence Inquiries Financial Transparency Board of Directors