Future Earth
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 815033986
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2021–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2018
- Location
- Fort Collins, CO, USA
- Phone
- 9704029043
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Natural Resources Conservation and Protection
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,976,450
- Expenses
- $3,138,001
- Assets
- $1,896,860
- Liabilities
- $618,811
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ERICA KEY (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- ERICA KEY (CEO): $278,900 total reported compensation
- LAUREL MILLIKEN (COO): $200,868 total reported compensation
- VEERA MITZNER (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR): $182,442 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 research in support of transformations to global sustainability.
What it reported doing in 2024
Anthropocene magazine: a first-of-its kind publication to focus specifically on the anthropocene, a new epoch in the geologic history of the planet named for humanity's influence on the globe. Its global audience has grown dramatically. It is now available in university libraries around the world; it reaches over 120,000 unique web visitors every month; and it has more than 45,000 subscribers to its two newsletters.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 81% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 69% for direct work, and 31% for grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 61
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 13
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 92.7%; rating input score 93
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- 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: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
- 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: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- 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: -58.8%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.6; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.33; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 29.4%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 52.6% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 35.9% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 37.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 92.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $279K · 9 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 4 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.