Rodale Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to advancing regenerative organic agriculture through rigorous research, farmer training and education. For more than seventy-five years, Rodale Institute has been researching best practices for managing pests and diseases in organic agriculture and sharing those findings with farmers and scientists worldwide to educate and support the transition to regenerative organic agricultural practices. Through organic leadership, we improve the health and wellbeing of people and the planet.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
78¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 35 volunteers and 158 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · 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
6 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $3.0M a year · 19% of revenue · last 6 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 6 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
78%
of spending
Looks good: 78% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.3M
to officers and key staff · 7% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 7% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
4 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $29.2M in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Looks good: 3.5 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $293K
Looks good: 3 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$1.7M
3% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 3% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
13
of 15 voting members
Looks good: 13 of 15 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$22.7M
+43% vs prior year
Spent
$19.4M
To programs
78%
Net assets
$56.9M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$22.7M
FY2025▲ +43%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$10.1M
FY2021$12.5M
FY2022$15.5M
FY2023$18.6M
FY2024$15.8M
FY2025$22.7M
Expenses
$19.4M
FY2025▲ +24%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$7.6M
FY2021$8.5M
FY2022$11.2M
FY2023$14.7M
FY2024$15.6M
FY2025$19.4M
Net assets
$56.9M
FY2025▲ +8%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$37.3M
FY2021$43.9M
FY2022$44.1M
FY2023$50.8M
FY2024$52.6M
FY2025$56.9M

From the FY2025 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 1972.

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

Where the money goes

78 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 78% · $15.1M Management & general 13% · $2.5M Fundraising 9% · $1.8M

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

24 people listed on the 990; $1.3M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Chief Executive Officer
$253,076Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Financial Officer
$180,975Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Program Officer
$178,032Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Scientific Officer
$163,496Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Operating Officer
$156,190Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Impact Officer
$141,270Pt VII · Sec A
Dir of Vegetable Systems Trial
$131,978Pt VII · Sec A
Recording Secretary
$81,879Pt VII · Sec A

Jeffrey Tkach’s $253K as Chief Executive Officer is at the 79th percentile of top reported officer pay among 249 $10–100M 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Jeffrey Tkach$253,076$228,466————
Jeff Moyer——$184,738$217,591$232,607$184,138
Jeff Tkach——$196,976$156,442$145,824$144,308
Elaine Macbeth$180,975$171,359$156,496$149,022$136,712$134,812
Luke Howard$178,032—————
Jessica Student$141,270$163,591————
Andrew Smith$163,496$158,413$148,188$130,923$122,634$119,320
David Willey$156,190—————

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 Rodale Institute executive salaries →

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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

Promotes health and well-being for people and the planet via organic leadership.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $15.1M · in their own filed words · FY2025
01

Rodale institute (the "institute"), located in kutztown, pennsylvania, is an innovative 501(c)(3) nonprofit, dedicated to advancing regenerative agriculture through independent scientific research, direct farmer support initiatives, consumer education, and workforce training programs.

$15.1Mprogram 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
Ppl FoundationFY2025$10K
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$293K
See all 3 funders →
Grants paid · 26 grants · $4.2M · 2023–2025
Emory UniversityGA · FY2025$943,774
Georgia Organics INCGA · FY2025$189,785
Soil Health InstituteNC · FY2025$129,513
North Carolina State UniversityFY2025$71,961
Madison Garden ClubFY2025$50,157
Viginia Assoc of BiologyVA · FY2025$6,803
Madison Garden ClubFY2024$515,620
Soil Health InstituteNC · FY2024$122,770
Viginia Assoc of BiologyVA · FY2024$32,392
See all 26 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$22.7M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$19.2M
Investment incomeLn 3$2.7M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$590K
Money outPt IX
$19.4M
Ln 25
Programscol B$15.1M
Managementcol C$2.5M
Fundraisingcol D$1.8M
Owns and owesPt X
$56.9M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$5.7M
Total assetsLn 16$58.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.7M
PeoplePt VI, VII
24
listed · VII A
PaidVII A8
Voting boardVI 1a15
IndependentVI 1b13
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$19.2M
Government grantsLn 1e$6.3M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$501K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$590K
Investment incomeLn 3$2.7M
Other incomeLn 4–11$161K
Gains on assetsLn 7$1.8M
Total revenueLn 12$22.7M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$3.5M
SavingsLn 2$2.2M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$5.7M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$29.2M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$13.6M
Other assetsLn 15$0
Total assetsLn 16$58.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.7M
Net assetsLn 32$56.9M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5158
VolunteersI 635
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$8.8M$5.7M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$30.0M$29.2M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$9.3M$13.6M
Total assetsLn 16$54.7M$58.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2.2M$1.7M
Net assetsLn 32$52.6M$56.9M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$1.8M$1.8M
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$600K$465K$99K$36K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$7.4M$5.7M$1.2M$431K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$200K$155K$32K$13K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$1.6M$1.2M$253K$100K
Payroll taxesLn 10$603K$468K$97K$38K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$0
Lobbying feesLn 11d$66K$66K
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$322K$322K
Investment management feesLn 11f$193K$151K$25K$18K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$2.4M$2.0M$235K$121K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$0
Office expensesLn 13$1.3M$768K$123K$438K
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$593K$468K$116K$8K
TravelLn 17$514K$452K$18K$45K
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$183K$156K$24K$3K
InsuranceLn 23$0
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$1.7M$1.2M$250K$199K
Total functional expensesLn 25$19.4M$15.1M$2.5M$1.8M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $22.7M$19.4M$3.3M$56.9M 990 PDF
FY2024 $15.8M$15.6M$209K$52.6M 990 PDF
FY2023 $18.6M$14.7M$3.9M$50.8M 990 PDF
FY2022 $15.5M$11.2M$4.3M$44.1M 990 PDF
FY2021 $12.5M$8.5M$4.0M$43.9M 990 PDF
FY2020 $10.1M$7.6M$2.4M$37.3M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support M · Noncash J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $22,653,171 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $13,632,361$19,191,854
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$590,214
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $1,655,693$2,710,459
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $506,488$160,644
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $15,794,542$22,653,171
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $985,355$1,766,356
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $9,231,124$10,337,596
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $145,750$322,500
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $5,223,056$6,941,335
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $15,585,285$19,367,787
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $209,257$3,285,384
Part VI · Governance 13 of 15 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body15
VI-1b Independent voting members13
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 $22,653,171 across 12 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $94,885 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1e Government grants$6,260,945
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$12,930,909
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$500,583
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$19,191,854
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $590,214$590,214
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $926,102$926,102
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossExcluded from tax −$12,665−$12,665
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $1,784,357$1,784,357
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $78,424$78,424
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $685,099 · Excluded from tax $2,776,218$22,653,171
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $19,367,787 across 30 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $1,766,356$1,766,356
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $464,567 · Management $99,183 · Fundraising $35,818$599,568
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $5,707,656 · Management $1,228,827 · Fundraising $430,714$7,367,197
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $154,765 · Management $32,104 · Fundraising $12,786$199,655
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $1,215,244 · Management $252,648 · Fundraising $99,894$1,567,786
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $467,701 · Management $97,330 · Fundraising $38,359$603,390
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting fees$0
IX-11d Lobbying feesPrograms $65,586$65,586
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $322,500$322,500
IX-11f Investment management feesPrograms $150,699 · Management $24,791 · Fundraising $17,560$193,050
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $2,024,792 · Management $234,706 · Fundraising $121,497$2,380,995
IX-12 Advertising and promotion$0
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $768,048 · Management $123,495 · Fundraising $438,040$1,329,583
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $468,039 · Management $116,435 · Fundraising $8,469$592,943
IX-17 TravelPrograms $451,504 · Management $17,672 · Fundraising $44,528$513,704
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $156,376 · Management $23,696 · Fundraising $2,510$182,582
IX-23 Insurance$0
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $1,234,015 · Management $250,041 · Fundraising $198,836$1,682,892
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $15,095,348 · Management $2,500,928 · Fundraising $1,771,511$19,367,787
Part X · Balance sheet $58,579,646 assets, 24 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $5,362,062$3,494,572
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $3,424,777$2,156,860
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $6,072,996$9,273,515
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $208,869$451,726
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $9,124$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $357,987$369,771
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $9,281,101$13,600,760
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $29,417,232$28,571,317
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $602,789$661,125
X-13 Program-related investmentsStart of year $0$0
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $0$0
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $0$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $54,736,937$58,579,646
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $2,161,737$993,059
X-18 Grants payableStart of year $0$0
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $0$137,705
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $0$0
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $0$0
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $0$0
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $2,161,737$1,671,597
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $27,575,975$28,901,315
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $24,999,225$28,006,734
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $52,575,200$56,908,049
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $54,736,937$58,579,646
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $56,908,049 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$22,653,171
XI-2 Total expenses$19,367,787
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$3,285,384
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$52,575,200
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$989,129
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$58,336
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$56,908,049

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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