Resources for the Future INC

Tax-deductible

Washington, DC501(c)(3)Since 1952EnvironmentEIN 53-0220900

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RFF's mission is to improve environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
74¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 22 volunteers and 97 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · 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
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
1 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $1.5M a year · 10% of revenue · last 5 filings
Concern: a surplus in 1 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
74%
of spending
Fine: 74% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$3.3M
to officers and key staff · 18% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 90% of similar orgs
Fine: pay to officers and key staff is 18% of spending; 15% to 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
<1 mo
of spending, in cash
Concern: 0.4 months of spending in cash; under 2 weeks.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $30K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$23.0M
28% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 28% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
23
of 23 voting members
Looks good: 23 of 23 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$15.5M
-8% vs prior year
Spent
$18.8M
To programs
74%
Net assets
$58.2M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$15.5M
FY2024▼ -8%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$15.5M
FY2021$15.5M
FY2022$13.0M
FY2023$13.7M
FY2024$16.9M
FY2024$15.5M
Expenses
$18.8M
FY2024▲ +4%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$15.5M
FY2021$15.3M
FY2022$16.0M
FY2023$17.2M
FY2024$18.1M
FY2024$18.8M
Net assets
$58.2M
FY2024▼ -6%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$60.1M
FY2021$67.9M
FY2022$56.1M
FY2023$57.7M
FY2024$62.2M
FY2024$58.2M

From the FY2024 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: FY2024. IRS ruling in Feb 1984.

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

Where the money goes

74 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 74% · $14.0M Management & general 18% · $3.4M Fundraising 7% · $1.4M

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

35 people listed on the 990; $3.3M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President and CEO
$486,790Pt VII · Sec A
VP, Finance & Administration
$324,459Pt VII · Sec A
Associate VP, Research and Policy Engagement
$321,542Pt VII · Sec A
Senior Fellow
$307,851Pt VII · Sec A
Senior Fellow
$283,497Pt VII · Sec A
VP, Development and Institutional Strategy
$271,512Pt VII · Sec A
Senior Fellow
$265,310Pt VII · Sec A
VP, Communications
$245,063Pt VII · Sec A

William Pizer’s $487K as President and CEO is at the 90th 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

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Richard G Newell—$431,901$583,508——$382,542
William Pizer$486,790$384,790$311,952$159,045——
Richard Newell———$446,508$420,049—
Carolyn Mollen$324,459$281,550$276,316$257,384$244,136—
James Boyd$321,542$268,370$255,935$228,353$208,434$196,961
Alan Krupnick$307,851$299,851$294,354$270,289$257,626$248,092
Shannon Wulf Tregar$271,512$263,137$293,853$233,488$224,325—
Raymond Kopp———$266,287$291,670$255,358

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 Resources for the Future INC 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

Improves decisions on environment, energy, and resources through impartial economic research.

Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $14.0M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Confronting Risks and Building Resilience

RFF evaluates the physical and economic impacts of energy and environmental policies, using data to assess risks and uncertainties at global, national, sectoral, and local scales, to ensure that global decision makers are equipped with the information they need to build resilience in their communities.

$7.4Mprogram expense
02

Designing Smart Emissions Reduction Strategies

RFF analyzes policies to determine how they can be effective, efficient, equitable, beneficial to the economy, and able to achieve net-zero emissions goals from economy-wide solutions that send consistent economic signals to the marketplace to sector-specific strategies for all major areas of the economy.

$5.1Mprogram expense
03

Communications

dissemination of research results in the form of research publications, resources magazine, resources radio, the RFF website, video, and other methods. Communications activities advance RFF's reputation for independent research and nonpartisanship while informing and shaping public debate.

$1.5Mprogram 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 1 funder$30K
Grants paid · 19 grants · $1.3M · 2019–2024
University of WyomingWY · FY2024$99,243
University of PittsburghPA · FY2024$50,000
Swaniti InitiativeTX · FY2024$50,000
Arizona State UniversityFY2024$49,960
The Urban InstituteDC · FY2024$49,250
The University of OklahomaFY2024$42,443
Montana State UniversityFY2024$25,000
Colorado School of MinesFY2024$12,500
The University of TennesseeFY2024$10,466
Unitemized GrantFY2019$287,500
See all 19 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$15.5M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$10.3M
Investment incomeLn 3$5.9M
Money outPt IX
$18.8M
Ln 25
Programscol B$14.0M
Managementcol C$3.4M
Fundraisingcol D$1.4M
Owns and owesPt X
$58.2M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$695K
Total assetsLn 16$81.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$23.0M
PeoplePt VI, VII
35
listed · VII A
PaidVII A12
Voting boardVI 1a23
IndependentVI 1b23
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$10.3M
Government grantsLn 1e$1.3M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$313K
Investment incomeLn 3$5.9M
Gains on assetsLn 7$4.9M
Total revenueLn 12$15.5M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$695K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$695K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$55.4M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$19.5M
Other assetsLn 15$1.3M
Total assetsLn 16$81.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$23.0M
Net assetsLn 32$58.2M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 597
VolunteersI 622
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 FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$370K$695K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$58.4M$55.4M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$19.9M$19.5M
Total assetsLn 16$85.9M$81.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$23.7M$23.0M
Net assetsLn 32$62.2M$58.2M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$706K$706K
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$347K$347K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$2.0M$1.3M$388K$276K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$7.9M$6.5M$717K$681K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$1.0M$556K$383K$72K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$1.4M$821K$521K$106K
Payroll taxesLn 10$642K$364K$226K$52K
Management feesLn 11a$94K$14K$80K$165
Legal feesLn 11b$73K$28K$46K
Accounting feesLn 11c$747K$276K$471K
Investment management feesLn 11f$183K$183K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$124K$88K$24K$12K
Office expensesLn 13$633K$512K$76K$45K
Information technologyLn 14$410K$290K$84K$36K
OccupancyLn 16$775K$701K$74K
TravelLn 17$126K$99K$23K$5K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$319K$235K$64K$20K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$118K$81K$37K
InsuranceLn 23$143K$95K$48K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$1.1M$989K$70K$996
Total functional expensesLn 25$18.8M$14.0M$3.4M$1.4M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 $16.9M$18.1M−$1.2M$62.2M 990 PDF
FY2023 $13.7M$17.2M−$3.5M$57.7M 990 PDF
FY2022 $13.0M$16.0M−$3.0M$56.1M 990 PDF
FY2021 $15.5M$15.3M$188K$67.9M 990 PDF
FY2020 $15.5M$15.5M−$54K$60.1M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2024 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $15,548,968 across 8 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$1,290,928
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$9,033,020
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$312,813
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$10,323,948
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $924,063$924,063
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossExcluded from tax −$633,463−$633,463
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $4,934,420$4,934,420
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $5,225,020$15,548,968
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $18,836,539 across 20 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $705,644$705,644
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $347,243$347,243
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $1,303,978 · Management $388,212 · Fundraising $275,718$1,967,908
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $6,511,277 · Management $716,906 · Fundraising $680,744$7,908,927
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $555,555 · Management $383,109 · Fundraising $72,335$1,010,999
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $820,658 · Management $520,762 · Fundraising $106,291$1,447,711
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $363,951 · Management $226,156 · Fundraising $52,057$642,164
IX-11a Management feesPrograms $14,392 · Management $79,739 · Fundraising $165$94,296
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $27,673 · Management $45,600$73,273
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $276,057 · Management $471,138$747,195
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $182,757$182,757
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $87,791 · Management $24,172 · Fundraising $11,798$123,761
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $511,747 · Management $75,668 · Fundraising $45,331$632,746
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $289,749 · Management $84,191 · Fundraising $36,125$410,065
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $701,374 · Fundraising $73,632$775,006
IX-17 TravelPrograms $98,536 · Management $22,521 · Fundraising $5,163$126,220
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $234,603 · Management $64,433 · Fundraising $20,244$319,280
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $81,089 · Management $36,507$117,596
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $95,381 · Management $47,690$143,071
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $989,333 · Management $70,348 · Fundraising $996$1,060,677
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $14,016,031 · Management $3,439,909 · Fundraising $1,380,599$18,836,539
Part X · Balance sheet $81,143,391 assets, 18 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $369,893$695,469
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $3,855,118$3,958,180
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $15,700$47,141
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $187,933$195,442
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $19,864,833$19,525,509
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $53,911,813$50,595,067
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $4,502,929$4,800,780
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $3,195,740$1,325,803
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $85,903,959$81,143,391
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $2,531,996$2,458,879
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $254,449$127,397
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $20,529,945$19,994,477
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $371,772$379,605
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $23,688,162$22,960,358
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $47,497,289$42,326,953
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $14,718,508$15,856,080
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $62,215,797$58,183,033
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $85,903,959$81,143,391
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $58,183,033 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$15,548,968
XI-2 Total expenses$18,836,539
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$3,287,571
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$62,215,797
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments−$553,698
XI-9 Other changes in net assets−$191,495
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$58,183,033

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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