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Refed Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Refed Inc

Refed catalyzes the food system toward evidence-based action to stop wasting food for the climate, environment, people, and the economy.

$1.2M
Granted FY2024still arriving
6
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$300k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Food & Nutrition$4.7MEnvironment$600kPublic Safety & Disaster$160kHuman Services$114kYouth Development$15kCommunity Improvement$10k
02FY2024 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 6 grants below total $1,010,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $1,236,346 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $226,346 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $50k–250k4 grants · $460k
  • $250k+2 grants · $550k
$200,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$15M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AFTERLIFE AG$300,000
CENTER FOR ECOTECHNOLOGY$250,000
FOOD RESCUE US$200,000
CONNECTEDFRESH COMPANY$100,000
EARTHDAY365 DBA GREEN DINING ALLIANCE$100,000
PRISM$60,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY20–23, $219k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 54% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 10%GROWING PLACES GARDEN PROJECT: $119k → 11%WHITE PONY EXPRESS: $100k → 9%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
VT
WA
MT
MN
NY
MA
OR
PA
NJ
CT
CA
UT
CO
NC
DC
HI
GA
TX
FL
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Sharing Excess

Sharing excess (se) is a philadelphia-based nonprofit that uses surplus food as a solution to scarcity. while over 40 million people in the us face food insecurity, nearly 40% of the nation's food supply is going to waste. our mission is…

Food & Nutrition
2
Extrafood

Food Rescue - The Organization rescues excess fresh food from Bay Area businesses, schools and non-profits and immediately delivers the food to safety net partners - such as senior housing centers, after-school programs, and homeless…

Food & Nutrition
3
Feeding Charlotte Inc

Feeding Charlotte rescues surplus, freshly prepared meals to reduce food waste and feed the hungry. We believe no food should be wasted while people go hungry in our community. To make this possible, we pickup unused, excess freshly…

Food & Nutrition
4
The Food Bank for Larimer County

To provide food to all in need through community partnerships and hunger relief programs. Our vision is a hunger-free Larimer County.

Food & Nutrition
5
Food Link Inc

Food link is working to create a more equitable food system throughout greater boston by rescuing and distributing high-quality, customized food to under-resourced communities and by advocating for systems change.

Food & Nutrition
6
Second Chance Foods Inc

Second Chance Foods (SCF or the Organization) is dedicated to reducing food waste by rescuing food that would otherwise be discarded, reducing hunger on a local basis while elevating the health of those served by the program, and reducing…

Food & Nutrition
7
Waste Not Inc

Waste Not cultivates sustainable food systems that help people and the planet flourish. We do this by eliminating food waste and hunger through innovative community partnerships.

Food & Nutrition
8
Foodcircle Foundation
—
9
Food Bank of Eastern Michigan

The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan's mission is to be the Food Source for people in need. Partnering with organizations to feed the hungry, we advocate and build a community solution to a community problem. By leveraging an abundance of…

Food & Nutrition
10
Feeding America

Our mission is to advance change in America by ensuring equitable access to nutritious food for all in partnership with partner food banks, policymakers, supporters, and the communities we serve.

Food & Nutrition
11
Berkeley Food Network

The berkeley food network (bfn) works to expand food assistance services to food-insecure berkeley residents. bfn was founded in 2016 to help establish a foundation of good health from which all berkeley residents can pursue opportunity by…

Food & Nutrition
12
360 Eats

We strive to end hunger and food waste in the Tampa Bay community through innovative solutions that rescue and redistribute fresh, healthy surplus food, while also providing job training for those facing employment barriers.

Food & Nutrition
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Harvest Against Hunger; the most unlike its peers is Eat Greater Des Moines. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

38 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 38 of the 52 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
38/38
Grantees still filing
27/38
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FOOD RESCUE US INC: $300,000 · Food & NutritionFOOD RESCUE US INCSPOONFULS: $151,250 · Food & NutritionSPOONFULSFOOD FINDERS INC: $150,000 · Food & NutritionFOOD FINDERS INCCITY HARVEST INC: $150,000 · Food & NutritionCITY HARVEST INCSECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND: $150,000 · Food & NutritionSECOND HARVEST HEARTLANDTABLE TO TABLE INC: $100,000 · Food & NutritionRe-Plate Inc DBA Replate: $100,000 · Food & NutritionCENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FOOD BANK: $100,000 · Food & Nutrition412 FOOD RESCUE INC: $100,000 · Food & NutritionBOULDER FOOD RESCUE: $100,000 · Food & NutritionALOHA HARVEST: $100,000 · Food & NutritionBrighter Bites Inc: $100,000 · Food & NutritionUpcycled Food Foundation: $100,000 · Food & NutritionVERMONT FOODBANK: $100,000 · Food & NutritionFOOD FORWARD INC: $100,000 · Food & NutritionBOSTON AREA GLEANERS INC: $100,000 · Food & NutritionMOVE FOR HUNGER INC: $100,000 · Food & NutritionFOOD RECOVERY NETWORK INC: $100,000 · Food & Nutrition+1 more: $75,000 · Food & NutritionAFTERLIFE AG: $300,000 · OtherAFTERLIFE AGTRANSPARENT PATH SPC: $187,750 · OtherTRANSPARENT PATH SPCWISELY: $160,000 · OtherWISELYUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS: $150,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVISTREASURE8 LLC: $102,500 · OtherGOODR INC: $100,000 · OtherBLUE EARTH COMPOST: $100,000 · OtherFULL HARVEST TECHNOLOGIES INC: $100,000 · OtherCONNECTEDFRESH COMPANY: $100,000 · OtherSECOND SERVINGS OF HOUSTON: $100,000 · OtherTHE DC CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $100,000 · OtherBLUECART INC: $100,000 · OtherHARVEST AGAINST HUNGER: $100,000 · Other+10 more: $459,203 · Other+10 moreCENTER FOR ECOTECHNOLOGY INC: $250,000 · EnvironmentCENTER FOR…St Louis Earth Day: $100,000 · EnvironmentSt Louis E…THE WAVE FOUNDATION: $100,000 · EnvironmentTHE WAVE F…Earth Island Institute Inc: $50,000 · EnvironmentEarth Isla…GROWING PLACES GARDEN PROJECT INC: $119,000 · Human ServicesWHITE PONY EXPRESS: $100,000 · Human ServicesPartnership for a Healthier America Inc: $103,500 · Youth DevelopmentDREAMING OUT LOUD INC: $100,000 · Youth DevelopmentSEASHARE: $100,000 · Community ImprovementPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $94,987 · Education
Food & Nutrition$2,276,250Other$2,159,453Environment$500,000Human Services$219,000Youth Development$203,500Community Improvement$100,000Education$94,987

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFOOD RESCUE US INC: $300,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCENTER FOR ECOTECHNOLOGY INC: $250,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetSPOONFULS: $151,250 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetFOOD FINDERS INC: $150,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCITY HARVEST INC: $150,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND: $150,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGROWING PLACES GARDEN PROJECT INC: $119,000 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetPartnership for a Healthier America Inc: $103,500 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetTABLE TO TABLE INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetRe-Plate Inc DBA Replate: $100,000 over 2y, 4.8% of budgetCENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FOOD BANK: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budget412 FOOD RESCUE INC: $100,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetBOULDER FOOD RESCUE: $100,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetALOHA HARVEST: $100,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetBrighter Bites Inc: $100,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetUpcycled Food Foundation: $100,000 over 1y, 39% of budgetVERMONT FOODBANK: $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSEASHARE: $100,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetSECOND SERVINGS OF HOUSTON: $100,000 over 1y, 7.6% of budgetWHITE PONY EXPRESS: $100,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetFOOD FORWARD INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSt Louis Earth Day: $100,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetTHE WAVE FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 5.5% of budgetBOSTON AREA GLEANERS INC: $100,000 over 2y, 4.6% of budgetMOVE FOR HUNGER INC: $100,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetDREAMING OUT LOUD INC: $100,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetTHE DC CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetFOOD RECOVERY NETWORK INC: $100,000 over 1y, 8.8% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $94,987 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD CONNECT CO: $75,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetUNITED AGAINST POVERTY INC: $59,916 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetEarth Island Institute Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Albertsons Compan…Claneil Foundation IncThe Kroger Co Zero Hu…Clif Family FoundationMeans Database IncFarmlink ProjectThe Kroger Co Foundat…The Betsy and Jesse F…ImpactassetsincThe Chicago Community…Share Our StrengthSilicon Valley Commun…
The Albertsons Companies FoundationCA18.6× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Albertsons Companies Foundation · Claneil Foundation Inc · The Kroger Co Zero Hunger Zero Waste Foundation · Clif Family Foundation · Means Database Inc · Farmlink Project · The Kroger Co Foundation · The Betsy and Jesse Fink Family Foundation · Impactassetsinc · The Chicago Community Trust · Share Our Strength · Silicon Valley Community Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Refed Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Refed Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 13%
  • Growing Places Garden Project Inc: 49% of income from government
  • Boston Area Gleaners Inc: 20% of income from government
  • Vermont Foodbank: 13% of income from government
  • Center for Ecotechnology Inc: 9% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
12report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 52 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Refed’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home