Spark Climate Solutions

What it reported doing in 2025

Livestock Enteric Methane MitigationSpark worked to advance research, policy, and market pathways in 2025 to reduce enteric methane emissions from livestock, which account for approximately 6% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. We co-convened the State of the Science Summit on Reducing Methane from Animal Agriculture, bringing together researchers, producers, policymakers, and solution developers to align priorities and surface key gaps. Spark also supported the Global Enteric Methane Impact Alliance (GEMIA) to strengthen coordination across the supply chain and led the development of a strategic roadmap that assesses the full livestock methane solution pipeline to guide investment and accelerate progress.Methane RemovalSpark continued its work as the leading philanthropic funder of atmospheric methane removal research, with more than $8 million invested across 27 foundational research projects exploring approaches ranging from accelerating methane's natural breakdown in the atmosphere, plants, and soils to reactor and catalyst-based oxidation methods. We welcomed Dr. Megan Melamed, former Deputy Director of NOAA's Chemical Sciences Laboratory, to lead the program and bring scientific rigor to evaluating whether methane removal could responsibly complement aggressive emissions-reduction efforts and we convened over 80 scientists, policymakers, legal scholars, and market innovators at Stanford in the largest gathering to date on methane removal, and engaged with members of Congress to advance public research funding for the field.Agricultural NitrogenIn 2025, Spark transitioned agricultural nitrogen from an exploratory area to a full program to develop a shared scientific vision called Nitrogen 2.0 - a next-generation approach aimed at moving beyond incremental efficiency gains to unlock major reductions in nitrogen loss through transformative innovations in crop breeding, animal feeding, and manure management. Spark hired Dr. Maria Bowman to lead the program and began developing a strategic roadmap and targeted research and policy engagements. Agricultural nitrous oxide emissions currently represent approximately 4% of total global greenhouse gas emissions and are projected to add 0.1-0.3C of additional warming by 2100.Warming-Induced EmissionsSpark launched a new program in 2025 to address the underquantified greenhouse gas emissions released by warming natural systems such as permafrost, wetlands, and forests - emissions that could amplify anthropogenic warming by 20-30% this century yet remain largely absent from climate models and global policy frameworks. We hired Dr. Ben Poulter, a former White House scientist, to lead the program, and launched the Warming-Induced Emissions Model Intercomparison Project (WIEMIP) in October 2025, coordinating leading Earth system modeling teams worldwide to produce an accelerated assessment for the next International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) cycle.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 44.5%; rating input score 44
• Program expense ratio: 81.3%; rating input score 81
• Fundraising efficiency: $43.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Missing
• Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
  • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
  • Requires narrative reports: Pass
  • Conducts field audits: Fail
  • May suspend future funding: Fail
  • Requires financial reports: Pass
  • Conducts site visits: Fail
  • Requires grant agreements: Fail
  • May require repayment: Fail
• Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 8th 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: 47.4%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.29; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 30.4%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 28.3% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 26.1% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings