Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 2013.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
75 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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
5 people listed on the 990; $147K paid to officers and key staff.
Nicholas Lauten’s $96K as Board Chair and Executive Director is at the 77th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1989 $100K–1M 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas Lauten | $96,000 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nic Lauten | — | $92,250 | $89,714 | $67,410 | — | — |
| Sarah Buchanan-Sasson | — | — | — | $80,000 | — | — |
| Sarah Buchanan | — | — | — | — | $76,031 | $49,615 |
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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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
Empowers Rwandan coffee farmers to end poverty through entrepreneurship.
Questions for Kula Project INC
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Kula Fellowship
A holistic 15 month program designed to eradicate poverty through the development of entrepreneurs. Provides industry training, life and leadership skills, and business investment to coffee and artisan fellows in coffee communities in rural Rwanda.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2022 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY22 | End FY22 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $248K | $290K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $100K | $83K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $445K | $549K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $5K | $2K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $439K | $547K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $475K | $475K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $147K | $74K | $74K | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $72K | $46K | $3K | $23K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $13K | $7K | $4K | $1K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $16K | $9K | $6K | $2K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $9K | $4K | $4K | |
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $597 | $597 | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $2K | $1K | $1K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $75K | $75K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $11K | $6K | $6K | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $8K | $4K | $4K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $829K | $625K | $103K | $101K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $703K | $828K | −$126K | $435K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $1.0M | $874K | $131K | $553K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $623K | $768K | −$145K | $404K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 Viewing | $900K | $829K | $71K | $547K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $916K | $749K | $167K | $439K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $776K | $644K | $132K | $273K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2022 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $899,916 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 3 of 4 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $899,916 across 5 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $828,996 across 11 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $548,779 assets, 12 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $547,138 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2022 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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