Center for Earth Energy and Democracy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
452580349
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Minneapolis, MN, USA
Phone
6122597371
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,527,065
Expenses
$2,488,651
Assets
$3,164,921
Liabilities
$106,485

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BYRON RAMOS-GUDIEL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • BYRON RAMOS-GUDIEL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $225,138 total reported compensation
  • DALAL ABOULHOSN-SR DIRECTOR (OF PROGRAM & POLICY): $186,546 total reported compensation
  • KARISSA GERHKE (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $161,087 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The center for earth, energy & democracy (ceed) works to ensure just and equitable climate, energy, and environmental policy through education, advocacy, and research. We provide tools and information for communities and policy makers in an effort to create just climate and environmental policy.

What it reported doing in 2024

1 - research, policy, and advocacyceed works in partnership with grassroots communities, policy makers and researchers, combining technical research with a priority for understanding policy impacts on communities. As public dialogue about climate change becomes more and more "expert driven," ceed is committed to providing resources and space for inclusionary and informed public participation and self-governance. We work to highlight energy infrastructures that support long term sustainability and community control. In 2024, ceed conducted research, policy, and advocacy both in the midwest and nationally through the equitable and just national climate platform (ejncp). Ceed plays a leadership role in the ejncp coalition through convening and coordinating the activities of the coalition in an ongoing way. The primary areas of focus in 2024 were: implementation of the justice40 (j40) initiative and the investments in the inflation reduction act (ira) and bipartisan infrastructure law (iija) and reducing local pollution from the power sector in communities. 2 - popular educationceed conducts popular education within communities to build their capacity to engage on critical energy, climate and environmental policies and planning that affect their health and livelihoods. In 2024, ceed developed and conducted popular education materials that positions communities to share stories and experiences that advance policies that better the lives of constituents. We continued to provide offerings to our midwest constituencies while expanding opportunities for national partners through the ejncp. Ceed's curriculum is organized by series, including the pollution series, energy series, climate series, and nature series. Expanded offerings included curriculum on justice 40 and education materials on the ira implementation. These resources support community partners in understanding these complicated federal programs and how to utilize available funding. Ceed worked with artists to create visual resources such as geographically customized zines to increase accessibility and understanding of different facets of the ira.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.5%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 70.4%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.5%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.27; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 41.8%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24.5% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.5% of revenue deployed · 70.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $225K · 13 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 39/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.