Ceres INC FY2022 filing

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Ceres is a nonprofit advocacy organization working to accelerate the transition to a cleaner, more just, and resilient world. Through education and research, we make the business case for action on the most pressing sustainability challenges facing our economy today: climate change, water scarcity and pollution, and nature and biodiversity loss. With data-driven research and expert analysis, we inspire investors and companies to act on these global challenges and advocate for market and policy solutions.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
84¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$1.9M paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2022 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $1.7M a year · 5% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
84%
of spending
Looks good: 84% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.9M
to officers and key staff · 5% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 5% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
8 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 7.7 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $340K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$6.1M
15% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 15% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
23
of 24 voting members
Looks good: 23 of 24 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$31.7M
-29% vs prior year
Spent
$36.4M
To programs
84%
Net assets
$35.0M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$31.7M
FY2022▼ -29%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$24.6M
FY2021$44.5M
FY2022$31.7M
FY2023$43.5M
FY2024$40.9M
FY2025$33.6M
Expenses
$36.4M
FY2022▲ +36%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$21.7M
FY2021$26.8M
FY2022$36.4M
FY2023$41.6M
FY2024$44.3M
FY2025$37.8M
Net assets
$35.0M
FY2022▼ -14%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$22.7M
FY2021$40.7M
FY2022$35.0M
FY2023$36.8M
FY2024$33.5M
FY2025$29.4M

From the FY2022 Form 990 (year ending October 2022) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2022 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 1990.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

84 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 84% · $30.7M Management & general 9% · $3.4M Fundraising 6% · $2.3M

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

37 people listed on the 990; $1.9M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2021); the FY2022 filing did not itemize Part VII
CEO and President
$296,810Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Development Officer
$262,133Pt VII · Sec A
Exec. VP & Chief Program Officer
$230,386Pt VII · Sec A
Managing Director
$209,806Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary/Chief Fin. & Adm. Officer
$202,209Pt VII · Sec A
VP, Foundation Development
$192,165Pt VII · Sec A
VP, Government Relations
$188,195Pt VII · Sec A
VP, Investor Network
$179,147Pt VII · Sec A

Mindy Lubber’s $333K as CEO and President is at the 72nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 324 $10–100M environment 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Mindy Lubber$333,139$311,427$324,205$296,810$279,289$257,625
Susan Sayers$308,841$288,120$284,122$262,133$253,406$220,104
Susan Boyer$272,841$252,762$246,587$202,209$183,888$160,471
Dawn Martin Until Aug 2024—$255,415————
Dawn Martin$243,024—$253,299$230,386$220,349$191,660
Steven Rothstein$252,897$235,895$232,051$209,806$186,883—
Donna Daniels$234,204$216,420$25,334———
Anne Kelly$228,731$214,649$212,177$188,195$171,648$148,436

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 Ceres 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 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Mobilizes influential investors and companies to adopt sustainable business practices and advocate for policies addressing climate change, water scarcity, and social inequality.

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3 programs · $22.5M · in their own filed words · FY2021
01

Sustainable Capital Markets

See schedule oceres mobilizes influential financial market actors to engage and collaborate on environmental, social, and governance issues to advance leading investment practices, corporate engagement strategies and policy solutions through working groups and shared learning opportunities, such as webinars and events.

$13.5Mprogram expense
02

Policy

See schedule othe ceres policy network, known as bicep, comprises 75+ companies, including dozens of leading consumer brands and fortune 500s, advocating for strong climate, clean energy and water policies at the state and federal levels the ceres bicep network helps companies voice their support for the policies our economy urgently…

$5.1Mprogram expense
03

Climate and Energy

See schedule oceres mobilizes the most influential investors and companies in tackling climate change as a sustainability issue that must be addressed at every level of business and investment planning and operations.

$3.8Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$340K
Grants paid · 30 grants · $2.7M · 2019–2024
Cdp North America INCNY · FY2024$370,277
Forest Trends AssociationDC · FY2024$73,333
Meridian InstitutePA · FY2024$9,097
Cdp North America INCNY · FY2023$367,275
Forest Trends AssociationDC · FY2023$98,626
Meridian InstitutePA · FY2023$54,584
Clean Air Task Force INCMA · FY2023$20,000
Cdp North America INCNY · FY2022$235,214
Forest Trends AssociationDC · FY2022$152,716
R Street InstituteDC · FY2022$75,000
Meridian InstitutePA · FY2022$54,583
Clean Air Task Force INCMA · FY2022$20,000
Climate CollaborativeWA · FY2022$11,200
Forest Trends AssociationDC · FY2021$214,825
Meridian InstitutePA · FY2021$87,500
Meridian InstitutePA · FY2021$45,486
Climate CollaborativeWA · FY2021$36,073
Clean Air Task Force INCMA · FY2021$20,000
See all 30 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2022 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$31.7M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$26.6M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$4.9M
Other incomeLn 4–11$173K
Money outPt IX
$36.4M
Ln 25
Programscol B$30.7M
Managementcol C$3.4M
Fundraisingcol D$2.3M
Owns and owesPt X
$35.0M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$23.5M
Total assetsLn 16$41.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$6.1M
PeoplePt VI, VII
37
listed · VII A
PaidVII A9
Voting boardVI 1a24
IndependentVI 1b23
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$26.6M
Government grantsLn 1e$1.0M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$1.1M
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$750K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$4.9M
Investment incomeLn 3$73K
Other incomeLn 4–11$173K
Gains on assetsLn 7$10K
Total revenueLn 12$31.7M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$2.9M
SavingsLn 2$20.6M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$23.5M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1.3M
Other assetsLn 15$171K
Total assetsLn 16$41.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$6.1M
Net assetsLn 32$35.0M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5236
VolunteersI 652
Fiscal year endsHeaderOctober
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3More from this return
Abroad and in kindSch F, M
Grants to other countriesSch F Pt II–III$3.8M
Noncash gifts receivedSch M Pt I$1.1M
4Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY22End FY22
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$25.1M$23.5M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1.6M$1.3M
Total assetsLn 16$45.3M$41.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$4.6M$6.1M
Net assetsLn 32$40.7M$35.0M
5Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$404K$404K
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$3.8M$3.8M
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$2.1M$1.2M$472K$397K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$15.6M$12.6M$1.9M$1.1M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$621K$483K$85K$53K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$2.4M$1.8M$324K$208K
Payroll taxesLn 10$1.4M$1.1M$193K$112K
Legal feesLn 11b$134K$113K$21K
Accounting feesLn 11c$124K$24K$100K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$257K$257K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$3.9M$3.7M$73K$105K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$700K$700K
Office expensesLn 13$855K$738K$56K$61K
Information technologyLn 14$484K$401K$51K$33K
OccupancyLn 16$817K$671K$90K$56K
TravelLn 17$434K$384K$7K$44K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$558K$464K$15K$80K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$451K$353K$61K$37K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$1.4M$1.4M$23K$8K
Total functional expensesLn 25$36.4M$30.7M$3.4M$2.3M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS Aug 25, 2026 $33.6M$37.8M−$4.2M$29.4M 990 PDF
FY2024Filed with the IRS Aug 27, 2025 $40.9M$44.3M−$3.3M$33.5M 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Aug 30, 2024 $43.5M$41.6M$1.9M$36.8M 990 PDF
FY2022 ViewingFiled with the IRS Aug 29, 2023 $31.7M$36.4M−$4.8M$35.0M 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Sep 9, 2022 $44.5M$26.8M$17.6M$40.7M 990 PDF
FY2020Filed with the IRS Aug 31, 2021 $24.6M$21.7M$2.9M$22.7M 990 PDF

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2022 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $31,657,448 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $39,443,020$26,550,198
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $4,901,787$4,860,977
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $138,519$73,380
I-11 Other revenuePrior year −$25,361$172,893
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $44,457,965$31,657,448
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $4,617,120$4,209,897
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $15,712,532$22,107,161
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $6,517,615$10,129,962
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $26,847,267$36,447,020
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $17,610,698−$4,789,572
Part VI · Governance 23 of 24 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body24
VI-1b Independent voting members23
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $31,657,448 across 11 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $10,685 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1c Fundraising events$749,594
VIII-1e Government grants$1,014,814
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$24,785,790
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$1,126,296
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$26,550,198
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $4,860,977$4,860,977
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $63,662$63,662
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $9,718$9,718
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$130,041−$130,041
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $115,734 · Excluded from tax $176,515$292,249
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $4,987,396 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $119,854$31,657,448
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $36,447,020 across 19 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $403,884$403,884
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $3,806,013$3,806,013
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $1,241,605 · Management $471,529 · Fundraising $397,474$2,110,608
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $12,634,220 · Management $1,859,122 · Fundraising $1,131,629$15,624,971
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $482,662 · Management $85,457 · Fundraising $52,876$620,995
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $1,834,507 · Management $324,052 · Fundraising $207,730$2,366,289
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $1,079,096 · Management $193,005 · Fundraising $112,197$1,384,298
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $113,144 · Management $20,566$133,710
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $24,365 · Management $99,523$123,888
IX-11d Lobbying feesPrograms $257,219$257,219
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $3,727,368 · Management $72,627 · Fundraising $105,181$3,905,176
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $699,815$699,815
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $738,028 · Management $55,853 · Fundraising $61,361$855,242
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $400,685 · Management $50,997 · Fundraising $32,569$484,251
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $671,387 · Management $90,218 · Fundraising $55,669$817,274
IX-17 TravelPrograms $383,694 · Management $6,990 · Fundraising $43,657$434,341
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $463,694 · Management $14,746 · Fundraising $79,545$557,985
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $353,288 · Management $60,612 · Fundraising $37,400$451,300
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $1,378,618 · Management $22,669 · Fundraising $8,474$1,409,761
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $30,693,292 · Management $3,427,966 · Fundraising $2,325,762$36,447,020
Part X · Balance sheet $41,047,029 assets, 15 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $4,379,638$2,895,149
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $20,726,287$20,593,123
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $16,118,950$13,917,137
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $682,914$1,056,071
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $1,714,171$1,088,764
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $1,579,138$1,325,617
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $124,268$171,168
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $45,325,366$41,047,029
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $3,708,253$5,260,214
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $930,138$791,495
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $4,638,391$6,051,709
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $10,095,750$9,188,604
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $30,591,225$25,806,716
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $40,686,975$34,995,320
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $45,325,366$41,047,029
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $34,995,320 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$31,657,448
XI-2 Total expenses$36,447,020
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$4,789,572
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$40,686,975
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments−$902,083
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$34,995,320

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2022 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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