Environmental Research & Education Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 521804051
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Raleigh, NC, USA
- Phone
- 9198616876
- Rating
- 60
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $9,393,318
- Expenses
- $7,583,363
- Assets
- $18,305,562
- Liabilities
- $1,584,318
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
22 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- BRYAN F STALEY (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- BRYAN F STALEY (PRESIDENT & CEO): $440,834 total reported compensation
- KYLE KUSTERER (VP OF DEVELOPMENT): $216,824 total reported compensation
- SUZANNE BOXMAN (DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS): $154,811 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To advance scientific research and create educational pathways that enable innovation in sustainable waste management practices.
What it reported doing in 2024
Research projects - each year eref funds and oversees research projects related to a variety of waste management topics including landfill operations, recycling, and safety.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 53% for direct work, and 47% for grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 33
- Transparency & Controls: 67
- Accountability: 92
- Sustainability: 65
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 35.1%; rating input score 35
- Program expense ratio: 38.4%; rating input score 38
- Fundraising efficiency: $2.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Fail
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.2%; rating input score 99; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 25th 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: 19.3%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.41; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14.2%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 35.1% of revenue deployed · 38.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 17 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $441K · 22 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 41 of 42 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 23 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 18 filed related-organization links
- 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: Mission deployment rate scored 35/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 38/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.