Virginia · Nonprofit
NATURAL REFRIGERATION FOUNDATION
NATURAL REFRIGERATION FOUNDATION (Virginia) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $626,817 to it, the largest being THE KAHLERT FOUNDATION INC ($596,620). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $482k
- Funders on record
- 4
- Grants received
- $627k
- Net assets
- $4.9M
What Natural Refrigeration Foundation does
Mission
The Natural Refrigeration Foundation promotes the climate-positive, safe, reliable, and efficient use of the most earth-friendly natural refrigerants through the development of educational programs, delivery of training programs, providing research and educational scholarships to develop industry talent, academic alliances, and outreach within the natural refrigeration community.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
The Natural Refrigeration Foundation scholarship program is designed to encourage and assist education through granting scholarships at the undergraduate level. The program also serves the public interest by aiding the education of men and women to become qualified engineers. The scholarship program provides individuals, foundations, trusts, and corporations an opportunity to assist high-achieving students in engineering education through contributions, grants, bequests, and other legal means.
$90,941 spentof which $75,000 as grants53% of program spendingThe nrf participates in the annual iiar conference in the following ways. First, the foundation operates three tournaments - golf, cornhole, and pickleball - followed by an nrf vip reception. These events act as both a fundraiser for the nrf as well as a thank-you for all those who contribute. Secondly, the nrf hosts all its college scholarship recipients and pays for their travel, living, and attendance. At the conference, these scholars are provided with details about the natural refrigerant industry, exposed to all aspects of the industry, able to meet and network with industry experts, and able to attend all the available training and technical sessions. During the conference, nrf-funded research projects are presented through technical presentations including the purpose of the project, the project results, and how those results will benefit the natural refrigerant industry.
$80,750 spent47% of program spending
The 2 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $171,691.
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 2018 to 2019, from $2.5M to $3.3M (+30%).
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.
65% of NATURAL REFRIGERATION FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (57% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 9 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.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2018 and FY2019 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income fell $84k → $54k.
2 of 4 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 2% 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 NATURAL REFRIGERATION 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
NATURAL REFRIGERATION FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 95% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.
“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
NATURAL REFRIGERATION FOUNDATION draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Virginia, across 2 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $10k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 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
NATURAL REFRIGERATION FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 16,849 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 16,849 education nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like NATURAL REFRIGERATION 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 Virginia
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
94% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
71%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 38 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for NATURAL REFRIGERATION 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 NATURAL REFRIGERATION FOUNDATION?
- NATURAL REFRIGERATION FOUNDATION (Virginia) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $626,817 to it, the largest being THE KAHLERT FOUNDATION INC ($596,620). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does NATURAL REFRIGERATION FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 4 organizations giving $626,817 in grants to NATURAL REFRIGERATION FOUNDATION, 3 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of NATURAL REFRIGERATION FOUNDATION?
- THE KAHLERT FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $596,620 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like NATURAL REFRIGERATION FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Virginia. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
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 4 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