Share Our Strength is a national organization that funds a variety of anti-hunger and anti-poverty initiatives, with an emphasis on ending childhood hunger. The group is among the largest hunger-related advocacy organizations in the United States, raising $83 million in revenue in 2023. The group is best known for its No Kid Hungry campaign, a national initiative focused on eradicating childhood hunger. Since 2022, the group has been led by Anne Filipic, a Democratic political operative who was director of the White House Office of Management and Administration in the Biden administration and previously worked for the Obama administration, the Democratic National Committee, the Obama 2008 Presidential Campaign, and Enroll America. ^{1 2 3 4}

Background

Share Our Strength was founded in 1984 by siblings Debbie Shore and Billy Shore whom co-chair the group’s board as of 2024. The group has been based in Washington, D.C. since its founding, and initially was mostly a grantmaking organization. It claims to have formed several activist campaigns regarding hunger and nutrition. Notable activities include the “Taste of the Nation” fundraising event, the Cooking Matters nutrition-education program, and Community Wealth Ventures, a consultancy serving other nonprofit groups. ^{3 5}

Activities

Share Our Strength has grown to become one of the largest hunger and poverty organizations in the United States, reporting over $83 million in revenue in 2023, and $111 million in expenses. A large portion of the group’s activity is centered on grantmaking; the group distributed $38 million in grants in 2022 and $26 million in 2023. The group’s No Kid Hungry Campaign, which it founded in 2010, has become the focus of the group, accounting for $72 million of the group’s $111 million in 2023 expenses. ⁶

No Kid Hungry

No Kid Hungry was founded as a program of Share Our Strength in 2010 and is the group’s largest program. Most of the group’s public-facing activity takes place under the No Kid Hungry name. The group states that the program, in addition to food distribution, aims to tackle “root causes” of hunger ranging “from jobs that pay low wages to the high cost and inaccessibility of healthy foods, along with other systemic issues… (and) funding organizations that are helping families become more financially secure with a focus on single mothers.” ^{6 7}

The No Kid Hungry campaign also distributes all grants on behalf of Share Our Strength, providing grants to local organizations to fund meal distribution. ⁷

In 2022, Share Our Strength announced a new $6.7 million campaign to address the “root causes” of hunger by providing grants to left-of-center advocacy groups to promote policies including “leadership and job training, transitional employment, academic support, childcare assistance, access to tax benefits like the Child Tax Credit and a root-cause policy agenda.” ⁸

Funders of the No Kid Hungry’s policy work include the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation. Recipients of the campaign include the Black Land Ownership Council (BLOC) (Massachusetts), CASH Campaign of Maryland, Foundation Communities (Texas), the left-of-center think tank Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), Policy Matters Ohio, the Reuben V. Anderson Center for Justice (RVAC) (Mississippi), and the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. ⁸

Controversy

In 2020, the group was criticized for declining a $200,000 donation from rapper Daniel Hernandez (known by his stage name 6ix9ine) while the group released a statement claiming its policy is “…to decline funding from donors whose activities do not align with our mission and values.” Hernandez responded by posting on his Instagram profile alleging the company would, “…rather take food out the mouth of these innocent children…I never seen something so cruel.” ⁹

Leadership

Anne Filipic is the CEO of Share Our Strength, serving in the position since 2022. Prior to this, Filipic previously worked as the director of the White House Office of Administration during the Biden administration. Filipic also served several positions within the Obama administration, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Obama 2008 Presidential Campaign, and Enroll America. ^{2 1} In December 2024, Filipic was identified as the White House official who ordered the firings of several junior White House employees due to previous marijuana use in March 2021. According to an article by The Daily Beast, the firing was allegedly seen as “frustrating” to several White House staffers due to “indications from the Biden administration that recreational use of cannabis would not be immediately disqualifying for would-be personnel.” ¹⁰

1. Linkedin. “Anne Filipic.” Linkedin Website. Undated. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-filipic-b2a5844/
2. “Share Our Strength Raids White House For New CEO.” The NonProfit Times. August 30, 2022. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://thenonprofittimes.com/npt_articles/share-our-strength-raids-white-house-for-new-ceo/
3. “About Us.” Share Our Strength. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://shareourstrength.org/about-us/
4. “Share Our Strength: No Kid Hungry Model.” AmeriCorps. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://americorps.gov/evidence-exchange/Share-Our-Strength%3A-No-Kid-Hungry-Model
5. “Overview.” Share Our Strength. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://shareourstrength.org/overview/
6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Share Our Strength. 2023. https://shareourstrength.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2023-06-SOS-Form-990-Amended-Public-Disclosure-Copy.pdf
7. “No Kid Hungry.” Share Our Strength. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://shareourstrength.org/no-kid-hungry/
8. “Share Our Strength Unveils Groundbreaking Investment of $6.7 Million to Advance Economic Mobility for Single Mothers and Their Children.” Chare Our Strength. March 14, 2024. Accessed December 26, 2024.  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/share-our-strength-unveils-groundbreaking-investment-of-6-7-million-to-advance-economic-mobility-for-single-mothers-and-their-children-302088703.html
9. “Tekashi 6ix9ine Blasts Non-Profit For Declining $200k Taking Food Out Kids’ Mouths!!!” TMZ. May 12, 2020. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://www.tmz.com/2020/05/12/tekashi-6ix9ine-donating-200k-hungry-kids-pandemic-merch-sales-spike/
10. Bixby, Scott; Asawin Suebsaeng and Adam Rawnsley. “Biden White House Sandbags Staffers, Sidelines Dozens for Pot Use.” Daily Beast. March 18, 2021. Accessed December 25, 2024. https://www.thedailybeast.com/biden-white-house-sandbags-staffers-sidelines-dozens-for-pot-use