Dalberg Catalyst
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
DALBERG CATALYST EXISTS TO CO-CREATE AND ACTIVELY ACCELERATE SYSTEMS SOLUTIONS THAT HAVE A TANGIBLE AND DURABLE IMPACT ON THE PRESSING SOCIETAL AND PLANETARY CHALLENGES OF OUR TIME. WE TACKLE CHALLENGES WITH AGILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY, DOING WHAT IT TAKES TO HAVE TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT. OUR SOLUTIONS COMBINE: 1. THE SYSTEMS APPROACH THAT COMPLEX PROBLEMS REQUIRE, 2. BUILDING FROM LOCAL CONTEXTS, AMPLIFYING LOCAL VOICES, 3. INTELLECTUAL RIGOR, OPENNESS, AND HUMILITY, AND 4. CRITICAL ACTORS WHO COLLECTIVELY BRING THE CAPACITY AND LEGITIMACY REQUIRED TO SHIFT THE PARADIGM AND IMPLEMENT THE NECESSARY SOLUTIONS.
- Income
- $6.0 million
- Spending
- $8.6 million
- Spent on programs
- 88%
- Reserves
- 0.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 99%
- Employees
- 6
- Volunteers
- 0
- Highest pay
- $270,403, president/ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 39 out of 100. Higher than 6% of charities in its peer group (international, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
4 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 0.1 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 9% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 44% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 31% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1588% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 93 out of 100. Higher than 54% of charities in its peer group (international, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
18 of 253 of 4 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 (4)
- $460,484 spent. TVET CIV, DRC, AND TANZANIA - DALBERG CATALYST, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CATERPILLAR FOUNDATION, IS SUPPORTING THE DESIGN AND ROLL OUT OF AN INNOVATIVE MODEL FOR COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE SECTOR IN DELIVERING INDUSTRY-READY TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL SKILLS IN COTE D'IVOIRE, THE DRC, AND TANZANIA.
- $1.7 million spent. CLIMATE ACTION PLATFORM FOR AFRICA (CAP-A) - THE MISSION OF CAP-A IS TO UNLOCK AFRICA'S POTENTIAL AS A GLOBAL HUB FOR CLIMATE ACTION, UNDERPINNED BY A NEW CLIMATE-SMART MODEL OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND INCLUSIVE LIVELIHOODS. THE PLATFORM'S WORK IS INFORMED BY THE REALIZATION THAT AFRICA'S DEMOGRAPHICS, GROWTH TRAJECTORY AND NATURAL RESOURCE ENDOWMENTS, COUPLED WITH ITS EXTREMELY LOW LEVELS OF CURRENT CARBON EMISSIONS, ALLOW THE CONTINENT TO ASPIRE TO NOT JUST NET-ZERO BUT A SUBSTANTIAL NET-NEGATIVE CARBON FOOTPRINT SOONER THAN ANY OTHER PART OF THE WORLD.
- $713,074 spent. CLIMATE SMART FOREST ECONOMY PROGRAM: CSFEP AIMS TO BUILD RADICALLY NEW ECONOMIES THAT BALANCE THE NEEDS OF ECOSYSTEMS AND PEOPLE. BY USING USING BIO-BASED PRODUCTS TO MEET BASIC HUMAN NEEDS LIKE HOUSING, WHILE CREATING LOCAL JOBS AND GENERATING REVENUE FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT, CSFEP EMPOWERS COMMUNITIES TO TACKLE THEIR BIGGEST CHALLENGES WHILE ALSO DECARBONIZING AND REVERSING BIODIVERSITY LOSS. CSFEP SUPPORTS BREAKTHROUGH INITIATIVES THAT DEMONSTRATE THE FULL POTENTIAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS TO PAVE THE WAY FOR FUTURE GREEN GROWTH.
- FORM 990, PART III, LINE 4D . SHARING STRATEGIES - TO CRACK THE CONCURRENT CRISES OF COVID, CONFLICTS, CLIMATE, AND INEQUALITY, THE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY NEEDS TO BREAK OUT OF OLD WAYS OF WORKING, ESCAPE SILOED THINKING AND STRUCTURES, AND PARTNER STRATEGICALLY. SHARING STRATEGIES IS A NEUTRAL PLATFORM AND NETWORK OF LEADING CHANGE-MAKERS FROM ADVOCATES, THINK TANKS, LOCAL LEADERS, GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATIONS WORKING TOGETHER TO AVERT CLIMATE CATASTROPHE AND ACHIEVE OUR SHARED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS. SHARING STRATEGIES IS INCUBATED AT DALBERG CATALYST. . PREVENTING PANDEMICS AT THE SOURCE: DALBERG CATALYST DESIGNED AND LAUNCHED THE PREVENTING PANDEMICS AT THE SOURCE INITIATIVE IN RECOGNITION OF THE FACT THAT INFECTIOUS DISEASES LIKE COVID-19 WILL APPEAR AGAIN, AND WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY, UNLESS WE GET TO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM AND PREVENT PANDEMICS AT THEIR SOURCE - AT THE POINT OF SPILLOVER FROM ANIMALS TO HUMANS. THIS SPILLOVER IS OCCURRING WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY DUE TO OUR BROKEN RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE. ALONGSIDE A GROWING COALITION OF LEADING CONSERVATION, PUBLIC HEALTH, HUMAN RIGHTS, SCIENCE, HEALTH JUSTICE, INDIGENOUS RIGHTS, AND COVID-SURVIVOR ORGANIZATIONS, WE ARE WORKING TO CATALYSE FUNDING AND GLOBAL ACTION TO PREVENT THE SPILLOVER OF ZOONOTIC PATHOGENS - WELL BEFORE THEY CAN BECOME GLOBAL PANDEMICS, REGIONAL OR NATIONAL EPIDEMICS, OR EVEN LOCALIZED OUTBREAKS. . Uncommon Collaborations - Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, and co designed and managed by Dalberg Catalyst, Uncommon Collaborations supports collaborations between experts seeking to creatively solve complex challenges the world faces today. . Investors for Health - Dalberg Catalyst hosts and supports this community of investors who are working together to ensure that private and public capital are deployed to help build inclusive healthcare systems in Emerging Markets. The overall objective is to contribute to a thriving impact investment landscape in healthcare that takes the world closer to universal health coverage in emerging markets. . Elimu Soko - Elimu Soko serves as a stimulant and a clearinghouse for innovative solutions to fight learning poverty in Africa. Seed funded by Hempel Foundation, Elimu Soko catalyzes action by bringing together government stakeholders and education entrepreneurs to identify and resolve key bottlenecks limiting foundational learning. . COVID Vaccine Equity Project - Through the COVID vaccine equity project, Dalberg supports country governments and frontline immunization workers to take the lead in equitably delivering COVID-19 vaccines. . BIODIVERSITY INVESTMENTS - RESEARCH AND ACCELERATION (BIRA) - DALBERG CATALYST IS PARTNERING WITH FSD AFRICA INVESTMENTS, THE AFRICAN LEADERSHIP UNIVERSITY'S SCHOOL OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION, CREDITNATURE, XILVA, AND AXUM TO LAUNCH AFRICA'S FIRST BIODIVERSITY ACCELERATOR, WHICH AIMS TO INCREASE INVESTMENTS IN THE BIODIVERSITY SECTOR BY BUILDING A ROBUST PROJECT PIPELINE AND SIMPLIFYING BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENTS FOR INVESTORS. . SDG Leadership Labs - Dalberg Catalyst is supporting this program of the Global Executive Leadership Initiative, which aims to enhance the systems Leadership Initiative, which aims to enhance the systems leadership of participating UN country teams. It promotes new leadership capabilities, and introduces a forward-looking organizational model that strengthens leadership practice and supports collaborative leadership processes.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 2024.
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 2016.
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.
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