Composting Council Research and Education Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 541627814
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2015, Form 990-N 2011
- Location
- Raleigh, NC, USA
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $476,234
- Expenses
- $543,087
- Assets
- $116,130
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CHARLES DUPREY (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- DIANE HAZARD (Executive Dir.): $95,531 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 composting council research and education foundation (ccref) supports initiatives that enhance the stature and practices of the composting industry by supporting scientific research, increasing awareness and educating the public to advance environmentally and economically sustainable organic recycling.
What it reported doing in 2024
1.this year, cref advanced a much-needed comprehensive update to the test methods for the examination of composting and compost (tmecc) with the support of 20+ expert reviewers. These phase i updates focus on the u.s. Composting council's seal of testing assurance methods and once complete, will provide a strong, relevant foundation for compost science and the growing organics recycling industry. 2.our compost operations training course (cotc) is the educational gold standard for commercial-scale composting, training 1,500+ professionals from across the u.s. And internationally over 15 years. 3.international compost awareness week (icaw) is the largest and most comprehensive education initiative of the compost industry. Cref coordinates its celebration during the first full week of may with u.s. And international partners. The icaw poster contest had submissions from over 700 applicants from over 70 countries. 4.the compostable field testing program (cftp) is an ongoing international research project assessing the disintegration of compostable products in varied compost facility systems, with a goal of data shared on a public, open-source platform. Cftp staff also co-authored the newly-published astm field test standards, and are working to publish their own detailed field testing methods free and open-source for improved accessibility.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 76% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 24
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 88.6%; rating input score 89
- Program expense ratio: 77.7%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $12.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- 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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -14%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.21; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 17.6%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 19.2% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 16.8% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 88.6% of revenue deployed · 77.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $422K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $96K · 14 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.