The Good Food Institute

Legal name: The Good Food Institute Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
810840578
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Arlington, VA, United States
Phone
2025962262
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies & Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$28,143,912
Expenses
$35,420,353
Assets
$62,032,056
Liabilities
$7,386,672

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRUCE FRIEDRICH (PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER)
  • ILYA SHEYMAN (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • BRUCE FRIEDRICH (PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER): $252,040 total reported compensation
  • ILYA SHEYMAN (CEO): $248,400 total reported compensation
  • SUSAN MCCAUSLAND-HALTEMAN (SVP - DEVELOPMENT): $229,815 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Good Food Institute is a global nonprofit that uses open-trust research, policy, and corporate engagement to accelerate the development and commercialization of plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-made meat, eggs, and dairy.

What it reported doing in 2024

Science and technology - gfi's science and technology department accelerates the science of alternative protein technologies. Gfi's scientists are the global experts in this sector and work to ensure that a roadmap exists for alternative protein innovation, that the best scientists are engaged in research and development, and that significant funds are directed toward the highest-impact areas of alternative protein research.gfi's scitech team is focused on three principal activities:1. Analyzing current and future technical challenges and identifying the most important research for alternative proteins.2. Mobilizing funding for open-access research and development of alternative proteins.3. Inspiring and supporting the next generation of innovators in the alternative protein industry.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 83% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.7%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 74.3%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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: 99%; rating input score 99; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 19th 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: -25.9%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.75; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 30.2% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 21% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.5% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 93.7% of revenue deployed · 74.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $26.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $252K · 14 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $661K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 39 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.