Form 990 for tax year 2023

Totals

Total revenue

$12,394,783

Total expenses

$6,268,073

Contributions and grants received

$12,033,022

Grants paid

$766,750

Program service revenue

$335,819

Investment income

$25,942

Other revenue

$0

Total assets, end of year

$10,012,463

Total liabilities, end of year

$300,849

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$9,711,614

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$4,938,153

Management and general expenses

$848,334

Fundraising expenses

$481,586

Program service expenses (Part III)

$4,938,153

Program services were 78.8% 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 · 2023

• CAPITAL & INNOVATION PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS:REFED'S CAPITAL & INNOVATION TEAM CONTINUED TO HAVE SIGNIFICANT SUCCESS WITH THE CATALYTIC GRANT FUND, A GRANTMAKING FUND THAT SUPPORTS INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS. IN 2023, REFED'S TEAM RAN THE FIRST OPEN CALL TO FUND FOOD LOSS AND WASTE SOLUTIONS RELATED TO RESHAPING CONSUMER ENVIRONMENTS AND RECEIVED 290 APPLICATIONS TOTALING MORE THAN $99 MILLION IN FUNDING REQUESTS, WITH SEVEN ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVING SIX-FIGURE FUNDING. IN COLLABORATION WITH NEARLY 50 EXPERT PARTNERS, REFED HELPED DEVELOP A ROADMAP THAT IDENTIFIES $300 MILLION IN READY-TO-FUND PHILANTHROPIC INITIATIVES TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE GLOBALLY. THE FOOD WASTE FUNDERS CIRCLE, A NETWORK OF PRIVATE, PUBLIC, AND PHILANTHROPIC FUNDERS INTERESTED IN USING THEIR CAPITAL TO SUPPORT FOOD WASTE SOLUTIONS, GREW TO A MEMBERSHIP OF 165 CAPITAL PROVIDERS AND SHARED 201 FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES VALUED AT $346 MILLION. THE CAPITAL & INNOVATION TEAM ALSO ADDED PHILANTHROPIC DATA TO THE CAPITAL TRACKER WEB TOOL, LENDING POWERFUL INSIGHTS TO GRANTMAKERS AND NONPROFITS.

  Expenses $2,176,933 · Grants $766,750 · Revenue $335,819

•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

  Expenses $1,364,745

• BUSINESS INITIATIVES PROGRAM SERVICES ACCOMPLISHMENTS:IN 2023, REFED'S BUSINESS INITIATIVES TEAM LAUNCHED THE BUSINESS SERVICES PROGRAM, WORKING WITH FOOD BUSINESSES TO PROVIDE CONSULTANCY SERVICES INCLUDING EDUCATION, STRATEGIC ADVISORY, AND DATA ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT CURATED FOOD WASTE REDUCTION EFFORTS WITH THESE SIGNIFICANT DRIVERS OF FOOD WASTE. REFED ALSO ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF THE U.S. FOOD WASTE PACT, BUILDING ON THE SUCCESS OF THE PACIFIC COAST FOOD WASTE COMMITMENT AND WORKING ALONGSIDE THE WORLD WILDLIFE FUND. THE PACT IS A NATIONAL VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT TO HELP FOOD BUSINESSES ACCELERATE PROGRESS TOWARD THEIR WASTE REDUCTION TARGETS. SIGNATORIES MEASURE AND REPORT FOOD WASTE DATA, FURTHER IMPROVING THE FOOD SYSTEM'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE ISSUE. THEY ALSO PARTICIPATE IN WORKING GROUPS TO SHARE BEST PRACTICES AND INSIGHTS AND PILOT PROJECTS TO TEST, IMPLEMENT, AND SCALE COST-EFFECTIVE FOOD WASTE SOLUTIONS. REFED CONTINUED TO HOST THE EDF CLIMATE CORPS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM IN FOOD WASTE, PLACING A DOZEN GRADUATE STUDENTS IN FOOD BUSINESSES TO ADDRESS THEIR CORPORATE FOOD LOSS AND WASTE GOALS. THE TEAM WORKED CLOSELY WITH OVER 40 FOOD BUSINESSES THROUGH THESE VARIED INITIATIVES.

  Expenses $1,085,070

• OTHER PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS:REFED'S LEADERSHIP IN THE FOOD WASTE MOVEMENT SIGNIFICANTLY ACCELERATED IN 2023, AS THE ORGANIZATION HOSTED THE LARGEST FOOD WASTE SOLUTIONS SUMMIT IN HISTORY WITH 650+ ATTENDEES, AND HAD A MEDIA REACH OF 2.2 BILLION IMPRESSIONS FROM 369 ARTICLES AND MEDIA CITATIONS. REFED ALSO GREW ALL OF ITS NETWORKS AND MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATIONS TO AN INTERNAL AUDIENCE OF MORE THAN 20,000, AND REACHED ANOTHER 2,000 NEW USERS ON ITS HOSTED WEBSITE TOOLS EVERY MONTH. REFED'S LEADERSHIP WAS RECOGNIZED WITH SPEAKING OPPORTUNITIES ON THE NATIONAL AND GLOBAL STAGE AS NEVER BEFORE, INCLUDING PRESENTATIONS AT AIM 4 CLIMATE AND COP28. ALONGSIDE WWF, NRDC, AND THE HARVARD LAW SCHOOL FOOD LAW AND POLICY CLINIC, REFED CO-FOUNDED THE ZERO FOOD WASTE COALITION (ZFWC), A NATIONAL EFFORT FOCUSED ON INFORMING FOOD WASTE POLICY AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT. RECOGNIZING THE EXPONENTIAL POWER OF COORDINATED ACTION, 104 ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS 31 STATES JOINED IN THE INAUGURAL YEAR. IN 2023, THE ZFWC RELEASED A STATE POLICY TOOLKIT, SHARED FOOD WASTE REDUCTION PRIORITIES FOR THE UPCOMING FARM BILL, HOSTED INFORMATION SESSIONS AT THE SUMMIT AND VIA WEBINARS, AND MORE.

  Expenses $311,405

As filed on the 2023 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

• TRANSPARENT PATH SPC

  $187,750

  SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL FOOD WASTE REDUCTION TECHNOLOGIES AND PROCESSES

• WISELY

  $160,000

  SUPPORT THE PRODUCTION AND LAUNCH OF ITS FOOD WASTE REDUCTION SMART FOOD STORAGE CONTAINER

• UC AGRICULTURE & NATURAL RESOURCES

  $150,000

  SUPPORT ITS RESEARCH TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CURRENT LEVEL OF HOUSEHOLD FOOD WASTE REDUCTION KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, BARRIERS, MOTIVATORS, AND PRACTICES OF CONSUMERS WHO PARTICIPATE IN FEDERALLY FUNDED NUTRITION EDUCATION PROGRAMS

• GROWING PLACES GARDEN PROJECT

  $119,000

  SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF ITS FRESH CHEF KIT PROTOTYPE AND COMPOSTING AT NCMAS NEW REGIONAL FOOD CENTER

• BLUE EARTH COMPOST

  $100,000

  SUPPORT ITS INITIATIVE TO BRING SHARE TABLES AND COMPOSTING TO CONNECTICUT PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND DEVELOP A RELATED TOOLKIT AND CURRICULUM

• EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE

  $50,000

  SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOOD SHIFT KITCHEN GUIDE, A WASTE REDUCTION RESOURCE

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2023

Filed

14 November 2024

IRS schema version

2023v5.1

Source object

202403209349311325

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

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