North Carolina · Nonprofit
CROATAN INSTITUTE
CROATAN INSTITUTE (North Carolina) receives grants from 33 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,402,029 to it, the largest being WAVERLEY STREET FOUNDATION ($650,000). 12 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.2M
- Funders on record
- 33
- Grants received
- $3.4M
- Net assets
- $21k
What Croatan Institute does
Mission
Croatan Institute is an independent, nonprofit research and action institute whose mission is to build social equity and ecological resilience by leveraging finance to create pathways to a just economy.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Ecological resilience - continued development of the north carolina soil wealth areas, place-based financing districts that connect regenerative agriculture producers and value chain businesses with aligned capital and technical assistance. Organized a convening of over 40 stakeholders in nc for a two-day working session for deep discussions, field visits, and trust building. Launched a new cohort of ten farmers to support on-farm implementation of conservation practices, develop business plans, and connect farmers to aligned capital. Released a new report, "models and opportunities for financing grain chains in the midwest." finalized research on two projects, one on agroforestry finance and one on the market potential of the nutritional and ecosystem benefits of regenerative agriculture which will culminate in forthcoming reports to be released in 2025. Finalized and premiered its first-ever short film, "soil wealth: investing in regenerative agriculture," which demonstrates effective practical solutions for funding the future of resilient and sustainable food systems.
$423,490 spent$58,219 earned by the program34% of program spendingSocial equity - Croatan Institute welcomed over 30 farmers, technical assistance providers, and investors to the inaugural farmer stakeholder meeting in north carolina to provide direct one-on-one support and access to new programs to support farmers and landowners' needs. Led 6th cohort of underserved farmers in north carolina, which included an in-person workshop day centered on personal financial security. Built the farmwise hub, a virtual platform offering free, online workshops along with one-to-one financial coaching to assist underserved farmers, ranchers, and landowners build strong financial systems that lead to greater resilience and improved access to wealth-building opportunities. Developed the north carolina equitable foodshed map, a resource to support farmers seeking technical assistance and financial support. Compiled a collection of usda resources and built an agritourism directory of small and underserved farms for the farmwise platform.
$414,760 spentof which $750 as grants$56,993 earned by the program33% of program spendingTransformative finance - Croatan Institute released a new raiser (research, action, and insights for social and environmental returns) tool to highlight the institute's rigorous investment research, including a powerful database of investable products across asset classes. Launched two publicly available datasets on the institute's website - a food and agriculture investment dataset highlighting investible opportunities advancing sustainable and regenerative agriculture, and a racial equity investing dataset highlighting investible products and advisors advancing equitable outcomes for communities and entrepreneurs of color. Hosted the blaise program's virtual learning week with over 80 student participants representing nearly fifty universities and colleges to learn from and network with twenty-eight industry leaders in the impact investing space.
$410,190 spent$56,365 earned by the program33% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,248,440.
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 $831k to $1.3M (+58%).
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: 2020 17% · 2021 38% · 2022 34% · 2023 18% · 2024 41%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
83% of CROATAN INSTITUTE’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (88% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 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.
Board chair
Joshua Humphreys
President/chair, senior fellow
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 17 funders, grant income rose $18k → $1.2M.
12 of 33 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 19% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of CROATAN INSTITUTE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 33 funders by total. 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
CROATAN INSTITUTE has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 19% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left
28% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund CROATAN INSTITUTE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 57% · 2018 68% · 2019 71% · 2020 41% · 2021 75% · 2022 24% · 2023 21% — 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.
How long its funders stay
46% of CROATAN INSTITUTE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 36% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
CROATAN INSTITUTE draws 92% of its grant income from funders outside North Carolina, across 12 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $658k arriving through sponsors registered in 7 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. 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
CROATAN INSTITUTE has grown faster than three-quarters of the 2,187 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,187 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding CROATAN INSTITUTE receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $4.1M on record.
- Department of Agriculture$4.1M
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 CROATAN INSTITUTE
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 North Carolina
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
73% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
65%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CROATAN INSTITUTE: 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 CROATAN INSTITUTE?
- CROATAN INSTITUTE (North Carolina) receives grants from 33 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,402,029 to it, the largest being WAVERLEY STREET FOUNDATION ($650,000). 12 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does CROATAN INSTITUTE have?
- IRS filings report 33 organizations giving $3,402,029 in grants to CROATAN INSTITUTE, 12 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CROATAN INSTITUTE?
- WAVERLEY STREET FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $650,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CROATAN INSTITUTE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in North Carolina. 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 Croatan Institute →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 33 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing