Appleseed is the founder of, and the national office for, a non-profit network of 18 centers across the u.s. And mexico. Appleseed is dedicated to advancing justice and opportunities that help low-income people and working families build better lives. Appleseed employs litigation, policy advocacy, and grass roots organizing, and makes a difference by staying close to theircommunities, winning victories in hard political environments, and bringing the power and expertise of a national network to bear on cross-cutting social issues.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
83¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 55 volunteers and 2 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
4 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $123K a year · 17% of revenue · last 5 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
83%
of spending
Looks good: 83% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$127K
to officers and key staff · 14% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 14% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
7 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $1.2M in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Looks good: 6.6 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
5
named funders · $807K
Looks good: 5 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$93K
5% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 5% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
38
of 38 voting members
Looks good: 38 of 38 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$1.1M
+31% vs prior year
Spent
$887K
To programs
83%
Net assets
$1.9M
By yearFY2021–FY2025
Revenue
$1.1M
FY2025▲ +31%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2021$388K
FY2022$783K
FY2023$697K
FY2024$806K
FY2025$1.1M
Expenses
$887K
FY2025▲ +9%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2021$242K
FY2022$548K
FY2023$623K
FY2024$811K
FY2025$887K
Net assets
$1.9M
FY2025▲ +14%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2021$1.5M
FY2022$1.5M
FY2023$1.6M
FY2024$1.6M
FY2025$1.9M

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending June 2025) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Exemption reinstated (2019-11-15). Per the IRS revocation list. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 2021.

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

Where the money goes

83 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 83% · $740K Management & general 11% · $94K Fundraising 6% · $53K

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

44 people listed on the 990; $127K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
$127,220Pt VII · Sec A
Co-Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Until Nov. 2024, Then Co-Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Until Nov. 2024, Then Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Nov. 2024, Then Imm. Past Co-Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary Until November 2024
$0Pt VII · Sec A
As of July 24, Sec./Treas. as of Nov. 2024
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Nov. 2024, Then Co-Chair Elect
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Benet Magnuson Arthur Monroe’s $127K as Executive Director is at the 52nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 1690 $1–10M philanthropy & grantmaking 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Benet Magnuson Arthur Monroe$127,220$118,000$103,000$90,000$42,192

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 Appleseed Foundation INC executive salaries →

On this list? Claim this org

Something off? Claim to add context

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

Advances justice and opportunities for low-income people through litigation, advocacy, and community organizing.

Questions for Appleseed Foundation INC

Tap to ask. Appleseed Foundation INC sees how many people are interested.

Your first name shows with your question. Appleseed Foundation INC answers here, for everyone.

Provided by the organization

Know this org? Add your story

3 programs · $740K · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Appleseed network collaboration -- the appleseed foundation facilitates collaborative advocacy among the 20 justice centers in the appleseed network. These collaborations include multicenter projects related to economic justice, criminal justice, education and youth, immigration, and access to justice.

$461Kprogram expense
02

Collective capacity building -- the appleseed foundation deepens the appleseed network's impact by helping build communities of learning and practice among the 20 appleseed justice centers.

$170Kprogram expense
03

Appleseed new justice -- the appleseed foundation sows the seeds of justice by launching new appleseed justice centers. When establishing a new appleseed center, the appleseed foundation works closely with local community members, advocates, and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing issues in the jurisdiction, gaps in existing…

$110Kprogram 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 · FY2024
See all 5 funders →
Grants paid · 30 grants · $1.1M · 2021–2024
See all 30 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.1M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.0M
Investment incomeLn 3$58K
Money outPt IX
$887K
Ln 25
Programscol B$740K
Managementcol C$94K
Fundraisingcol D$53K
Owns and owesPt X
$1.9M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$490K
Total assetsLn 16$2.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$93K
PeoplePt VI, VII
44
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a38
IndependentVI 1b38
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.0M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$12K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$198K
Investment incomeLn 3$58K
Gains on assetsLn 7$25K
Total revenueLn 12$1.1M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$103K
SavingsLn 2$386K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$490K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$1.2M
Total assetsLn 16$2.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$93K
Net assetsLn 32$1.9M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 52
VolunteersI 655
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
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$497K$490K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$1.2M$1.2M
Total assetsLn 16$1.7M$2.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$30K$93K
Net assetsLn 32$1.6M$1.9M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$344K$344K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$138K$101K$21K$16K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$171K$125K$25K$20K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$9K$7K$1K$1K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$32K$22K$6K$4K
Payroll taxesLn 10$24K$17K$3K$3K
Accounting feesLn 11c$26K$26K
Investment management feesLn 11f$1K$1K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$68K$66K$641$2K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$961$802$159
Office expensesLn 13$2K$593$1K
Information technologyLn 14$4K$579$4K
TravelLn 17$24K$19K$5K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$28K$27K$817
InsuranceLn 23$11K$8K$2K$1K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$3K$713$1K$806
Total functional expensesLn 25$887K$740K$94K$53K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $1.1M$887K$167K$1.9M 990 PDF
FY2024 $806K$811K−$5K$1.6M 990 PDF
FY2023 $697K$623K$74K$1.6M 990 PDF
FY2022 $783K$548K$234K$1.5M 990 PDF
FY2021 $388K$242K$146K$1.5M 990 PDF

More to add? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,053,955 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $786,800$1,034,641
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $52,013$57,564
I-11 Other revenuePrior year −$32,839−$38,250
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $805,974$1,053,955
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $312,682$344,414
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $352,486$373,317
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $145,824$168,794
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $810,992$886,525
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$5,018$167,430
Part VI · Governance 38 of 38 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body38
VI-1b Independent voting members38
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 $1,053,955 across 8 lines filed
VIII-1c Fundraising events$198,294
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$836,347
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$12,028
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,034,641
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $32,919$32,919
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $24,645$24,645
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$38,250−$38,250
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $19,314$1,053,955
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $886,525 across 16 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $344,414$344,414
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $101,365 · Management $20,586 · Fundraising $16,498$138,449
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $125,047 · Management $25,383 · Fundraising $20,342$170,772
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $6,513 · Management $1,261 · Fundraising $1,072$8,846
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $21,912 · Management $6,098 · Fundraising $3,509$31,519
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $17,470 · Management $3,393 · Fundraising $2,868$23,731
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $26,433$26,433
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $1,440$1,440
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $65,631 · Management $641 · Fundraising $1,523$67,795
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $802 · Management $159$961
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $593 · Management $1,273$1,866
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $579 · Management $3,709$4,288
IX-17 TravelPrograms $19,451 · Fundraising $4,745$24,196
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $27,098 · Management $817$27,915
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $8,287 · Management $1,682 · Fundraising $1,348$11,317
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $713 · Management $1,064 · Fundraising $806$2,583
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $739,875 · Management $93,939 · Fundraising $52,711$886,525
Part X · Balance sheet $1,961,350 assets, 14 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $145,023$103,469
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $352,054$386,301
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$225,000
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $13,360$24,824
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $894,954$972,214
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $262,090$249,542
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $1,667,481$1,961,350
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $17,498$43,427
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $12,971$50,000
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $30,469$93,427
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $475,429$317,855
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $1,161,583$1,550,068
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $1,637,012$1,867,923
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $1,667,481$1,961,350
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,867,923 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,053,955
XI-2 Total expenses$886,525
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$167,430
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$1,637,012
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$63,481
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$1,867,923

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

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

Your org? Add context

Made it to the end? Claim this org

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.