Physicians Committee for Responsible Med

What it reported doing in 2024

Education and Policy We lead advocacy efforts to expand the adoption and availability of plant-based diets. We advocate in Congress to end the inequitable statutory barriers that prevent students from accessing nondairy milks at schools, increase the availability of plant-based school meals, and push back against the dairy industrys efforts to force schools to serve dairy. We empower physicians, clinicians, and students to ensure their voices are heard on the need for better nutrition. We advocate to revise the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) to end its unnecessary promotion of meat and dairy and to instead promote healthy plant-based diets. We work alongside Native American tribal governments to ensure federal agencies consult with tribes regarding the DGA and that indigenous plant-based foods are incorporated. At the state level, we advocate for wider availability of plant-based foods in schools and other institutions. We also advocate at the federal and state level to encourage the funding, development, and implementation of human-relevant, nonanimal methods in medical research, education, and product testing. We consult federal agencies on their initiatives to reduce and end the use of animals in research, and we provide testimony and expertise to Congress on the same. We advocate for federal legislation that would ensure the National Institutes of Health is properly counting animals used in its funded laboratories, as well as legislation to remove requirements for animal testing and research. At the state level, we continue to work with legislators in Michigan to support legislation that would prohibit painful experiments on dogs and cats, and we seek an end to egregious and unproductive research on nonhuman primates in Oregon and nationwide. Physicians Committee President Neal Barnard, MD, FACC, oversaw clinical research studies and medical education programs, including the International Conference on Nutrition in Medicine. He presented at medical schools and hospitals and conducted interviews to educate listeners about healthful nutrition and modern ethical research methods. Our e-commerce and fulfillment operation provides educational literature and merchandise on nutrition and disease prevention to its members, the health care community, and the public. In fiscal year 2025, we fulfilled more than 900 physical orders, comprising 48,105 pieces of literature and merchandise (books, educational posters, etc.) shipped to locations worldwide. We welcomed 483 new customers. Additionally, the public downloaded 4,700 pieces of educational literature from our website.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 89.7%; rating input score 90
• Program expense ratio: 79.4%; rating input score 79
• Fundraising efficiency: $6.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Missing
• Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
  • 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: Pass
  • May require repayment: Fail
• Grant itemization coverage: 70.7%; rating input score 71; 14th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • 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: -11.7%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.22; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings