Form 990 for tax year 2024

Totals

Total revenue

$13,222,438

Total expenses

$8,630,104

Contributions and grants received

$12,528,491

Grants paid

$1,236,346

Program service revenue

$398,215

Investment income

$295,732

Other revenue

$0

Total assets, end of year

$15,218,674

Total liabilities, end of year

$883,667

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$14,335,007

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$6,720,048

Management and general expenses

$1,409,615

Fundraising expenses

$500,441

Program service expenses (Part III)

$6,720,048

Program services were 77.9% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Mission and programs · 2024

• CAPITAL & INNOVATION PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS:REFED'S CAPITAL & INNOVATION DIVISION CONTINUED TO FUND AND UNLOCK ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCING SOLUTIONS TO FOOD WASTE THROUGH THE CATALYTIC GRANT FUND. TO DATE THE FUND HAS UNLOCKED AT LEAST $30M IN FUNDING FOR ITS PORTFOLIO OF GRANTEES REPRESENTING A 15X IMPACT OF REFED'S INITIAL GRANT INVESTMENT. IN WORKING DIRECTLY WITH CAPITAL PROVIDERS AND THOSE SEEKING CAPITAL, REFED CURATED 17 CONNECTIONS LEADING TO FUNDING. MORE BROADLY, WE IDENTIFIED AND PROMOTED 132 FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES VALUED AT OVER $240M THROUGH DEAL FLOW REPORTS.

  Expenses $2,457,234 · Grants $1,161,346

• DATA & INSIGHTS PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS:REFED'S INSIGHTS ENGINE HAS NOW REACHED OVER 195,000 UNIQUE VISITORS AND THE ORGANIZATION HAS DOCUMENTED NEARLY 3,000 MEANINGFUL USE CASES OF STAKEHOLDERS ENGAGING WITH AND APPLYING THE DATA AND INSIGHTS SHARED WITHIN. REFED ALSO MIGRATED ITS DATA COLLECTION CAPABILITIES TO A WEB-BASED APPLICATION IN ORDER TO STREAMLINE FOOD BUSINESS DATA REPORTING, ENHANCE SECURITY CAPABILITIES, AND INCREASE DATA PROCESSING EFFICIENCIES. REFED ALSO ADVANCED NEW RESEARCH TO ENHANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF FOOD WASTE AND RELATED SOLUTIONS IN METHANE EMISSION FACTORS, PRODUCTION LOSSES IN BEEF AND DAIRY, ENHANCED SOLUTION MODELING IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR, AND WHOLE SUPPLY CHAIN ANALYSES OF BEEF, YOGURT, POTATOES, STRAWBERRIES, PLUMS, AND BANANAS.

  Expenses $1,956,370

• BUSINESS INITIATIVES PROGRAM SERVICES ACCOMPLISHMENTS:REFED NOTABLY EXPANDED THE MEMBERSHIP AND ACTIVITIES OF THE U.S. FOOD WASTE PACT, A NATIONAL VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT DESIGNED TO HELP WASTE-GENERATING BUSINESSES ACROSS THE FOOD SYSTEM TO ACCELERATE PROGRESS TOWARD THEIR SUSTAINABILITY GOALS. MEMBERSHIP NOW INCLUDES FOOD BUSINESSES FROM RETAIL, FOOD SERVICE, MANUFACTURING, AND QSR SECTORS, INCLUDING REPRESENTING OVER 60% OF THE U.S. RETAIL MARKET SHARE AS MEASURED BY RETAIL SALES. REFED ALSO CONTINUED TO PROVIDE CLIENT-FACING SERVICES TO INDIVIDUAL FOOD BUSINESSES, HELPING TO ALIGN FOOD WASTE REDUCTION, SUSTAINABILITY, AND OPERATIONAL STRATEGIES. IN TOTAL, REFED ENGAGED 46 BUSINESSES ACROSS THE YEAR.

  Expenses $1,885,722 · Grants $75,000 · Revenue $398,215

• OTHER PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS:REFED'S THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AND MOVEMENT BUILDING EFFORTS HAVE HELPED TO BUILD AN ENGAGED AUDIENCE OF NEARLY 27,000 STAKEHOLDERS FROM ACROSS THE FOOD SYSTEM. THE ANNUAL FOOD WASTE SOLUTIONS SUMMIT WELCOMED 727 ATTENDEES, ITS LARGEST AUDIENCE TO-DATE. REFED ALSO HOSTED 7 WEBINARS AND ENGAGED IN 36 ADDITIONAL SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS. OUR MEDIA REACH INCLUDED 429 MEDIA MENTIONS AND AN OVERALL REACH OF 5 BILLION.

  Expenses $420,722

As filed on the 2024 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.

Schedule J

Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.

Grants on this return

• AFTERLIFE AG

  $300,000

  TO SUPPORT THEIR CAPACITY TO PROCESS MEAT, SEAFOOD, AND DAIRY WASTE WITH BETTER EQUIPMENT, IMPROVE YIELDS WITH ADDITIONAL AUTOMATION, AND GROW NEW TYPES OF MUSHROOMS SUCH AS MAITAKE AND ROYAL TRUMPETS.

• CENTER FOR ECOTECHNOLOGY

  $250,000

  TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TRAIN-THE-TRAINER PROGRAM TO ENABLE LIKE-MINDED ORGANIZATIONS TO OFFER TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO RESTAURANTS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.

• FOOD RESCUE US

  $200,000

  TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A DATA-SHARING FEATURE WITHIN THEIR EXISTING FOOD RESCUE WEB-BASED APP TO BOLSTER RESTAURANT FOOD DONATIONS BY CREATING A DEDICATED API ENDPOINT THAT WILL INTEGRATE WITH THE POS AND/OR INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS COMMONLY USED BY RESTAURANT PARTNERS.

• CONNECTEDFRESH COMPANY

  $100,000

  TO SUPPORT THE ENHANCEMENT AND EXPANSION OF ITS 24/7 MONITORING SOLUTIONS TO INCLUDE ADVANCED INVENTORY MANAGEMENT AND WASTE TRACKING.

• EARTHDAY365 DBA GREEN DINING ALLIANCE

  $100,000

  TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FOOD WASTE TRACK AS PART OF THEIR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM THROUGH WHICH RESTAURANTS WILL RECEIVE DIRECT SUPPORT FROM A FOOD WASTE COACH.

• PRISM

  $60,000

  TO SUPPORT THE TESTING OF AS WELL AS PROTOTYPE ENHANCEMENTS AND PRODUCTION OF THEIR STORAGE SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR RESTAURANTS TO EXTEND THE LIFESPAN OF FRESH PRODUCE.

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2024

Filed

11 November 2025

IRS schema version

2024v5.2

Source object

202503199349301975

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