The Non-Gmo Project EIN 02-0799621

The Non-Gmo Project FY2021 filing

EIN  02-0799621 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Bellingham, WA Founded 2007
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →
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Verified accurate 8/18/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Educates the public and verifies products as non-GMO.
Leadership
Megan Westgate · Executive Director/Secreta · $178K
Money in and out
$5.1M revenue, $3.9M expenses
Bottom line
79% program efficiency

Educates the public and verifies products as non-GMO. For fiscal year 2021 it reported $5.1M in revenue, $3.9M in expenses, and $4.6M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2021
Total revenue
$5.1M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$3.9M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$4.6M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $1.2M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.79 Management & general $0.17 Fundraising $0.04
Program efficiency
79%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
12.9mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+23%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Revenue
$5.1M
FY2021▲ +10%
Expenses
$3.9M
FY2021▼ -1%
Total assets
$5.1M
FY2021▲ +19%
Total liabilities
$532K
FY2021▼ -38%
Total revenue
$5.1M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$3.9M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$4.6M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$1.2M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$5.1M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B79%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 38
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 47
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $3.1M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

Product Verification Program

The non-gmo project is america's only third-party verification for non-gmo food and products. With more than 60,000 non-gmo project verified products, the non-gmo project seal is the most widely recognized and trusted non-gmo label in the market.

$2.3Mprogram expense
02

Outreach & Education

Outreach and education are a key component of the non-gmo project's mission. We educate the over 3,000 verified brands we work with so that they can inform retailers and shoppers about the importance of preserving and building the non-gmo food supply.

$510Kprogram expense
03

Non-Gmo Month

Non-gmo month is an annual campaign in october that brings together reailers,manufacturers, and shoppers to celebrate consumers' rights to know what is in the food they eat. Grocery stores across the U.S.

$305Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CThe Non-Gmo Project
EINHdr · item D02-0799621
Principal addressHdr · item CBellingham, WA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.nongmoproject.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2007
State of legal domicileHdr · item MWA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFFood & Agriculture (K05)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMay 2008

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a8
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b7
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2Yes

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director/Secreta
$178,047Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Standards & Ve
$120,360Pt VII · Sec A
Former CFO/COO
$117,906Pt VII · Sec A
Interim CFO/COO
$93,242Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Megan Westgate’s $200K as Executive Director is at the 93rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 819 $1–10M food & agriculture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Megan Westgate$199,607$205,359$179,081$178,552$178,047$168,719
Lucy Macloughlin$153,808$146,039$136,610$128,813$120,360$118,098
Nichole Oleson$147,358$142,041$118,163$96,019
Cameron Miller$145,000$145,939$128,946$114,683$93,242
Shawn Kemp$139,794$125,000
Brittany O'Brien$126,998$122,031
Jeff Bos$117,906$119,783
Hans Eisenbeis$111,135$110,783$104,886$101,982

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue$4.6M · 91%
Contributions & grants$469K · 9%
Program service revenue91%$4.6M
Contributions & grants9%$469K
Investment income$3K
Other revenue$5K
— government grantsLn 1e$416K
Total revenueLn 12$5.1M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.79 Management & general $0.17 Fundraising $0.04
Program services79%$3.1M
Management & general17%$655K
Fundraising4%$155K
Total functional expensesLn 25$3.9M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$4.2M
Total assetsLn 16$5.1M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$532K
Total net assetsLn 32$4.6M
Months of cash on handcomputed12.9

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $4.2M · Operating expenses/yr $3.9M
12.9 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $3.1M · Total expenses $3.9M
79%
Management & General
Management & general $655K · Total expenses $3.9M
17%
Fundraising
Fundraising $155K · Total expenses $3.9M
4%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $99K · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $52K
$1.92 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $469K · Total revenue $5.1M
9%
Government reliance
Government grants $416K · Total revenue $5.1M
8%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $4.6M · Total revenue $5.1M
91%
Investment reliance
Investment income $3K · Total revenue $5.1M
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $4.6M · Total expenses $3.9M
117%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $5.1M · Prior year $4.6M
+10%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $4.6M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $5.1M · Expenses $3.9M
+23%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $5.1M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $4.6M · Total assets $5.1M
90%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $5.1M
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Megan Westgate · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/SECRETA · Highest reported compensation $178K · Total expenses $3.9M
5%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $2.8M · Total expenses $3.9M
72%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 79%
Overhead ratio 17%
Fundraising cost ratio 33%
Revenue growth 10%
Legal fee ratio 1%
Fundraising fee ratio 1%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2023
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$1K

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024$6.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$6.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$4.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$5.1M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$4.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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