Welfare Footprint Institute
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The Welfare Footprint Institute's mission is to advance the scientific quantification of animal welfare to drive improvements in policy, practice, and ethical decision-making. The Institute is an independent research organization, committed to methodological rigor and transparency, that develops and applies the Welfare Footprint Framework to conduct evidence-based estimates of welfare impacts in concrete, comparable units (cumulative time in affective states of defined intensities), with a focus on farmed animals in intensive production systems.
- Income
- $164,657
- Spending
- $131,032
- Reserves
- 3.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 100%
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 64 out of 100. Higher than 36% of charities in its peer group (animals, under $250k).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 3.1 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 48% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 20% of income.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 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 (3)
- $45,377 spent. The Institute conducted research to quantify the welfare impacts of pre-slaughter operations in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), a species with an estimated 550 million individuals slaughtered annually. Using the Welfare Footprint Framework, the project is developing evidence-based estimates of cumulative welfare burdens across the full pre-slaughter sequence (fasting, crowding, pumping, transport, and dewatering), encompassing six categories of biological harm: hunger, integumentary injuries, crushing injuries, respiratory distress, metabolic exhaustion, and fear and panic. The analysis aims to identify which operations impose the greatest welfare costs and where interventions would be most effective. This project is ongoing.
- $35,353 spent. The Institute conducted research on the welfare of farmed shrimp (L.vannamei), a species produced in the hundreds of billions annually. The project developed a mechanistic framework linking environmental conditions in intensive aquaculture (substrate deprivation, high stocking density, light exposure) to welfare outcomes grounded in the species' physiology and behavioral ecology. Work also included the identification and evaluation of candidate welfare indicators for real-time monitoring in intensive systems. Outputs include manuscripts in preparation for peer-reviewed publication and a feasibility assessment of predictive welfare indicators. This project is ongoing.
- $20,522 spent. The Institute is developing evidence-based estimates of the welfare impacts associated with gestation crate confinement in breeding sows, and the expected welfare outcomes of transitioning to group housing systems. The project applies the Welfare Footprint Framework to quantify and compare cumulative welfare burdens across housing systems, covering the United States, where the analysis encompasses 13 states with varying regulatory and production conditions. This project is ongoing.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
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.
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 November 6, 2026.
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.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since July 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
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 November 4, 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.