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National Fire Protection Research Foundation

EIN 52-1256543 · Quincy, MA

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood75 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

TO PROMOTE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIRE PROTECTION FIELD

Income
$3.4 million
Spending
$2.8 million
Spent on programs
80%
Reserves
2.9 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 38%
Employees
0
Volunteers
885
Highest pay
$1.3 million, chairman

Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Good: 75 out of 100. Higher than 44% of charities in its peer group (public safety and disaster relief, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    10 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 2.9 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 2% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 17% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 25% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    80% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 90% of charities in its peer group (public safety and disaster relief, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    9 of 10 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (47)
  1. $323,011 spent. IMPROVED PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT ("PPE") CLEANING BEST PRACTICESTHIS PROJECT BUILDS ON RESEARCH CONDUCTED IN TWO PRIOR DHS-AWARDED PROJECTS ("HOW CLEAN IS CLEAN AND "BROADENING PPE CLEANING VALIDATION APPLICATIONS") TO ESTABLISH AND COMMUNICATE COMPREHENSIVE BEST PRACTICES THE FIRE SERVICE CAN APPLY TO EFFECTIVELY CLEAN AND SANITIZE FIREFIGHTER PPE. THE AIM IS TO GET CLEANING VALIDATION TOOLS, AND EFFECTIVE CLEANING METHODOLOGIES, INTO MORE FIRE DEPARTMENTS SO THAT CHRONIC EXPOSURES ARE MINIMIZED.
  2. $285,406 spent. PROPERTY INSURANCE RESEARCHTHE PURPOSE OF THE PROPERTY INSURANCE RESEACH GROUP IS TO SUPPORT THE MISSION AND ACTIVITIES OF THE FIRE PROTECTION RESEARCH FOUNDATION BY PROVIDING A FORUM FOR INTERESTED MEMBERS OF THE PROPERTY INSURANCE INDUSTRY TO DISCUSS INDUSTRY RELEVANT FIRE PROTECTION ISSUES AND IDENTIFY RELATED RESEARCH NEEDS THAT COULD BE MET THROUGH RESEARCH PROJECTS CONDUCTED BY THE FOUNDATION. THE GROUP IS ALSO A MECHANISM TO RECOMMEND RESEARCH PROJECTS TO THE FOUNDATION AND TO PROVIDE, THROUGH A FUND CONSISTING OF MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS, FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR PIRG-RECOMMENDED PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN BY THE FOUNDATION.
  3. $408,401 spent. ASSESSMENT OF EV FIREFIGHTING TECHNIQUESTHE GOAL OF THIS STUDY IS TO IMPROVE EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND PUBLIC SAFETY BY EXPANDING THE EXISTING BODY OF KNOWLEDGE NEEDED FOR MANAGING EV INCIDENTS. THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH A LITERATURE REVIEW, GAP ANALYSIS, AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND EXECUTION OF FULL-SCALE EV BATTERY PACK AND VEHICLE TESTING, WITH DOCUMENTED FINDINGS AND COMPREHENSIVE VIDEO TRAININGS.
  4. $25,000 spent. FACILITIES RESEARCH CONSORTIA
  5. $10,572 spent. FIREFIGHTING FOAM EFFECTIVENES
  6. $5,040 spent. ITM DATA EXCHANGE
  7. $16,663 spent. COST OF BUILDING FIRE PROTECT.
  8. $5,000 spent. OXYGEN REDUCTION SYSTEM
  9. $52,500 spent. ENERGY STORAGE RESEARCHTHE PURPOSE OF THE ENERGY STORAGE RESEARCH CONSORTIUM IS TO SUPPORT THE MISSION AND ACTIVITIES OF THE FIRE PROTECTION RESEARCH FOUNDATION BY: PROVIDING A FORUM FOR INTERESTED MEMBERS OF THE ENERGY STORAGE AND FIRE PROTECTION INDUSTRIES TO DISCUSS INDUSTRY-RELEVANT FIRE PROTECTION ISSUES AND IDENTIFY RELATED RESEARCH NEEDS THAT COULD BE MET THROUGH RESEARCH PROJECTS CONDUCTED BY THE FOUNDATION. PROVIDING A CONTINUING MECHANISM TO RECOMMEND RESEARCH PROJECTS TO THE FOUNDATION AND TO PROVIDE, THROUGH A FUND CONSISTING OF MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS (THE "ESRC FUND"), FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR ESRC-RECOMMENDED PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN BY THE FOUNDATION.
  10. $5,000 spent. ESS HAZARD LANDSCAPE
  11. $103,836 spent. MODERN VEHICLE HAZARDS IN PARKING STRUCTURES - PH. 2
  12. $17,000 spent. SMART BUILDINGS
  13. $22,249 spent. REVIEW OF CO ALARM AND DETECTION THRESHOLDS
  14. $10,000 spent. PV SYSTEMS INSTALLED ON BUILDING ROOFS PH. 2
  15. $16,691 spent. ASRS
  16. $5,000 spent. SEMI-CONDUCTOR FACILITIES MAQ
  17. $7,500 spent. EVALUATION OF SINGLE EXIT STAIR
  18. $828 spent. EXPOSURE MITIGATION STRATEGIESTHE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EXPOSURE MITIGATION STRATEGIES FOR FIRE INVESTIGATORS. THE PROJECT AIMS TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF FIRE INVESTIGATORS BY DETERMINING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PPE, POST-FIRE SKIN-CLEANSING WIPES, AND ON-SCENE DECONTAMINATION METHODS FOR MITIGATING EXPOSURES TO TOXIC FIREGROUND CONTAMINANTS WHILE CONDUCTING INVESTIGATIONS. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE PRIMARY GOALS OR TARGETS OF THIS STUDY ARE TO REDUCE FIRE INVESTIGATOR EXPOSURES TO TOXIC FIREGROUND CONTAMINANTS THROUGH (1) ENSURING FIRE INVESTIGATORS HAVE PPE THAT PROVIDES THE NECESSARY LEVELS OF VAPOR AND PARTICULATE PROTECTION WHILE ALSO AFFORDING AN ESSENTIAL LEVEL OF THERMAL COMFORT, (2) CONFIRMING THAT SKIN CLEANSING WIPES FOR ON-SCENE DECONTAMINATION OF FIRE INVESTIGATORS ARE EFFECTIVE, AND (3) DETERMINING THE EFFICACY OF SIMPLE ON-SCENE WET DECONTAMINATION AS WELL AS DOFFING AND BAGGING GEAR AS A MEANS TO LIMIT SECONDARY EXPOSURE.
  19. $5,217 spent. ADOPTING PFAS
  20. $106 spent. CONTINUING FIGHT AGAINST COVID TOGETHER (C-FACT)
  21. $106,878 spent. FIREFIGHTER FOAMS-IMPLEMENTATION OF FIRE SERVICE
  22. $32 spent. CIGARETTE FIRES IN THE US:DATA ANALYSIS AND WORKSHOP
  23. $4,214 spent. FIREFIGHTER RESEARCH & EDUCATION FOR SAFETY & HEALTH
  24. $603 spent. FIREFIGHTER SAFETY FOR FIRE GROUNDS WITH LITHIUM ION
  25. $3,794 spent. FIGHTING DIRE TOXICITY
  26. $1,949 spent. IMPACT RADIUS OF CO2 PIPELINES
  27. $107,584 spent. LITHIUM-ION BATTERY TRANSIT BUS FIRE PREVENTION
  28. $78,810 spent. ROLE OF TRAINING ON VOLUNTEER FF RECRUITMENT AND RET
  29. $98,203 spent. TRAINING RESPONDERS VOLUNTEER
  30. $53,934 spent. WUI-SHOW
  31. $47,473 spent. SMOKE ALARMS AND CO ALARMS SURVEY - FINAL PHASE
  32. $13,252 spent. FFCCS-U ARIZONA-WILDLAND FF
  33. $13,954 spent. FFCCS-U MICHIGAN-DISASTER FF RESPONSE
  34. $86,002 spent. EV HAZARDS IN PARKING GARAGES FULL-SCALE TESTING
  35. $10,942 spent. LITHIUM-ION BATTERY FIRE PPE CONTAMINATION
  36. $38,122 spent. RACE WILDFIRES EVACUATION
  37. $7,340 spent. CONTAMINATION RESISTANCE FOR FF PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
  38. $443 spent. HAZARD ASSESSMENT OF ESS DURING MARINE TRANSPORT
  39. $10,974 spent. VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS CANCER PREVENTION STUDY PH. 2
  40. $7,512 spent. WILDFIRE VULNERABILITY INDEX
  41. $6,462 spent. FEMALE FIREFIGHTER PPE - PH. 2
  42. $460 spent. UTILIZING VAPOR-PROTECTIVE PPE TO REDUCE EXPOSURES
  43. $38,000 spent. CODE FUND PROJECTS
  44. $21,175 spent. SYMPOSIA
  45. $25,000 spent. ESS SEPARATION DISTANCES RESEARCH
  46. $134,971 spent. WUI-NITY 4
  47. CONTRACTS

Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending March 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since August 1982.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.