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Refed
Refed reported $13.2 million in revenue and $8.6 million in expenses for calendar year 2024. Of every $100 it spent, $77.87 went to program services, $16.33 to management and general costs and $5.80 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 94.8% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $297,550 (PRESIDENT). 15 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 202% between 2019 and 2024. Source: Form 990, 2024.
Where $100 of spending went
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $8.6MFor context, the median across 349 covered food, agriculture & nutrition charities: $94.56 programs, $3.12 management, $2.32 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $13MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | 2024 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 77.9% | 94.2% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 16.3% | 3.1% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 5.8% | 2.3% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.04 | $0.02 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 94.8% | 96.4% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 10.5% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 3.0% | 1.3% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $297,550 | $213,323 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 3.45% | 0.61% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 15 | 3 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 19.9 | 6.6 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 13 of 13 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
2024 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseCapital & 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
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…
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…
Highest reported compensation
2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRESIDENT Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $258,107 | $0 | $39,443 | $297,550 |
| VP, DATA & INSIGHTS Key employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $168,736 | $0 | $49,726 | $218,462 |
| VP, OPERATIONS & FINANCE Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $187,603 | $0 | $19,193 | $206,796 |
| VP, CAPITAL, INNOVATION & GLOBAL INITIATIVES Key employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $178,738 | $0 | $17,907 | $196,645 |
| COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $148,582 | $0 | $19,420 | $168,002 |
| DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $138,097 | $0 | $28,326 | $166,423 |
| VP, BUSINESS INITIATIVES & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $132,200 | $0 | $16,046 | $148,246 |
| DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $135,708 | $0 | $4,260 | $139,968 |
15 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Refed (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $919K (Part IX, line 5).
6 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
2024 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b13 · 13 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bYes
- Employees Part I, line 532
- Volunteers Part I, line 611
Largest outside contractors
2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| PEAK AUDIO VISUAL Event audio visual | $163,987 |
| QUANTIS INTERNATIONAL Data analytics | $145,000 |
| OCUPOP Web & graphic design | $126,766 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 3 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
21 private foundations reported grants to Refed totaling $4.6M on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from Refed's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Refed, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 Refed spent in 2024, $77.87 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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All food, agriculture & nutrition charities · Largest charities in Illinois
Questions people ask
How much of Refed's spending goes to programs?
In calendar year 2024, Refed reported that 77.9% of its $8.6 million in expenses went to program services, 16.3% to management and general and 5.8% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Refed pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Refed reported for one person in calendar year 2024 was $297,550, for the role of PRESIDENT (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Refed get its money?
Of $13.2 million in revenue in calendar year 2024, 94.8% came from contributions and grants and 3.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Refed a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 83-1579781 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- 2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202503199349301975 · read the filing · XML
- 2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202403209349311325 · read the filing
- 2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202323039349301702 · read the filing
- 2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202213199349322621 · read the filing
- 2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202133199349321698 · read the filing
- 2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202023219349318857 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 83-1579781: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.