Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Dec 1999.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
28 people listed on the 990; $1.3M paid to officers and key staff.
Richard Fuller CEO Thru Nov’s $200K as Head of Special Initiatives is at the 32nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 345 $10–100M international 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
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Fuller | — | $200,000 | $234,615 | $208,654 | $212,504 |
| Mark Schnellbaecher | — | — | — | $202,959 | — |
| Richard Fuller CEO Thru Nov | $200,000 | — | — | — | — |
| Carol Sumkin | $192,003 | $193,307 | $194,666 | $195,141 | $186,345 |
| Andrew McCartor | $183,077 | $175,000 | $138,077 | $119,231 | $120,000 |
| Shishi Zhang | $159,888 | $120,159 | — | — | — |
| Rachael Kupka | $152,624 | $117,077 | $140,000 | $119,231 | $119,460 |
| Lara Crampe | — | — | $147,479 | $106,576 | — |
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.
See Blacksmith Institute INC executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Programs and updates
Addresses life-threatening pollution in developing nations.
Questions for Blacksmith Institute INC
Your first name shows with your question. Blacksmith Institute INC answers here, for everyone.
The organization's objective is to ensure that we provide a clean and hospitable place for future generations. Our focus is on pollution-related problems in developing countries in particular.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $855K | $6.8M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $354K | $417K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $10.3M | $13.5M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $924K | $478K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $9.3M | $13.0M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $294K | $294K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $729K | $729K | ||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.5M | $1.1M | $147K | $237K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $8K | $6K | $809 | $1K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $14K | $4K | $4K | $6K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $162K | $134K | $11K | $17K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $13K | $11K | $2K | $105 |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $417K | $353K | $61K | $3K |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1.7M | $1.4M | $248K | $14K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $5K | $3K | $80 | $2K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $276K | $218K | $41K | $17K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $150K | $99K | $50K | $1K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $242K | $69K | $173K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $144K | $125K | $13K | $6K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $94K | $61K | $1K | $32K |
| InterestLn 20 | $33 | $33 | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $98K | $98K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $29K | $829 | $29K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $65K | $65K | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $6.0M | $4.8M | $879K | $337K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Oct 7, 2025 | $18.5M | $6.8M | $11.7M | $26.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Sep 9, 2024 | $5.2M | $7.0M | −$1.8M | $14.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 6, 2023 | $9.6M | $6.1M | $3.5M | $16.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 16, 2022 | $10.5M | $6.0M | $4.5M | $13.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Feb 3, 2022 | $10.4M | $4.7M | $5.7M | $9.3M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $10,512,947 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 18 of 19 board members independent, 2 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $10,512,947 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $5,966,870 across 19 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $13,522,554 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $13,045,009 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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