Rhode Island · Nonprofit
COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION
COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION (Rhode Island) receives grants from 7 organizations whose IRS filings report $934,055 to it, the largest being THE KEITH CAMPBELL FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT INC ($455,802). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $3.9M
- Funders on record
- 7
- Grants received
- $934k
- Net assets
- $1.4M
What Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation does
Mission
The mission of the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation is to support and conduct research and education that assists in the achievement of sustainable fisheries through the generation of better information and effective technologies for the benefit
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Revolution wind ventless trap survey gathers information about the population, movement and habitat usage of lobsters and jonah crabs in the lease area where the revolution wind farm is being constructed. The survey will be conducted before, during and after the building of the wind farm to determine whether the construction impacts these species.
$467,898 spent$664,884 earned by the program14% of program spendingSunrise wind trawl survey is a collaboration between cfrf and the university of massachusetts dartmouth school for marine science and technology and local fishermen. The survey is designed to assess the seasonal abundance, distribution and population structure of fish in the revolution and sunrise wind lease areas prior to the construction of the revolution wind farm and sunrise wind farm.
$540,641 spent$395,063 earned by the program16% of program spendingCfrf in partnership with local fishermen are conducting pre- construction fisheries monitoring surveys of the south fork offshore wind farm. It includes up to 15 wind turbine generators,submarine cables between turbines and offshore substation. The project aims to collect pre-construction data on 1)the abundance,size structure, and distribution of marine species and 2)oceanographic data that can be used to characterize the conditions of the south fork wind farm lease area.
$1,147,690 spent$1,522,508 earned by the program34% of program spendingThe black sea bass research fleet, shelf research, sea scallop programs, squid jigging and other projects are maintained and overseen by cfrf throughout the year.
$1,221,459 spent$1,333,496 earned by the program36% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,377,688.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $608k to $1.5M (+144%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 73% · 2018 93% · 2020 78% · 2021 27% · 2022 43% · 2023 23% · 2024 22% · 2025 21%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (74% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
N David Bethony
Executive director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2020 and FY2021 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 3 funders, grant income rose $12k → $149k.
From the IRS filings of COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 49% of grant income and the top three 86%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2019 57% · 2020 74% · 2021 60% · 2022 44% · 2023 40% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Rhode Island, across 5 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION has grown faster than three-quarters of the 717 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 717 animals nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $2.3M on record.
- Department of Commerce$2.1M
- National Science Foundation$150k
- Department of Agriculture$19k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Rhode Island
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
84% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION?
- COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION (Rhode Island) receives grants from 7 organizations whose IRS filings report $934,055 to it, the largest being THE KEITH CAMPBELL FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT INC ($455,802). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 7 organizations giving $934,055 in grants to COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION, 4 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION?
- THE KEITH CAMPBELL FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT INC is the largest funder on record, with $455,802 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RESEARCH FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Rhode Island. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Commercial Fisheries Research →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 7 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing