International Food Policy Research Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521041632
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2028625600
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$126,007,116
Expenses
$125,025,910
Assets
$145,146,258
Liabilities
$117,405,475

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

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHAN F SWINNEN (DIRECTOR GENERAL): $483,124 total reported compensation
  • PURNIMA MENON (SR DIR, FOOD & NUTRITION POLICY): $417,576 total reported compensation
  • CHANNING ARNDT (SR DIR, TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY): $391,683 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 provide research-based policy solutions that sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition.

What it reported doing in 2024

Development strategies and governance: conducts on-demand policy analysis for country governments and regional partners to identify policy options and market opportunities that can best enable agriculture and the rural economy to promote sustainable growth and poverty reduction; and which public investments have the highest returns in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction. Governance work addresses key issues related to political economy constraints to implementing sustainable food system policies, how governance structures affect the enabling environment for service provision, and the impacts of political crisis on transformation pathways and development strategies.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 69% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.9%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 86.8%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,100.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.8%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.16; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.81; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 9 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 86.9% of revenue deployed · 86.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $108.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $483K · 31 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $9.1M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 21 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.