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Zcash Foundation

EIN 82-0707962 · Mclean, VA

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair68 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

The Zcash Foundation is a public charity that builds financial privacy infrastructure for the public good, primarily serving the users of the Zcash protocol and blockchain. The Foundation also supports other applications of zero-knowledge cryptography, as well as other approaches to private cryptocurrency.

Income
$3.8 million
Spending
$8.0 million
Spent on programs
91%
Reserves
8.4 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 100%
Employees
21
Volunteers
0
Highest pay
$245,592, chief operating officer

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

Fair: 68 out of 100. Higher than 40% of charities in its peer group (science, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    28 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 8.4 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 0% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    0 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 111% of income.

  • Income trend

    5 of 15

    Income fell 21% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    91% 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: 100 out of 100. Higher than 68% of charities in its peer group (science, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    5 of 6 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 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 (5)
  1. $5.1 million spent. Zcash Community Grants (ZCG, formerly Zcash Open Major Grants ZOMG) is a technical advisory board that constitutes a committee of the Zcash Foundation, under its bylaws. Grants are chosen by a committee of five members who are chosen by the Zcash Community Advisory Panel (ZCAP) in an open election. Funding for ZCG's activities is provided via the Dev Fund specified in ZIP 1014.
  2. $981,559 spent. Protocol & Governance: The Zcash protocol and the open network it powers is valuable, privacy-protecting Internet infrastructure; it should be developed and maintained by an open and diverse community of experts and enthusiasts. It is a tool for financial privacy available to the general public. The Zcash Foundation acts as a steward of the Zcash protocol, providing leadership and supporting its continued maintenance and improvement.
  3. $590,019 spent. FROST: FROST (Flexible Round-Optimized Schnorr Threshold) is a cryptographic protocol that enables efficient and secure threshold signing--where only a minimum number of participants are required to generate a valid signature. FROST advances the state of the art in threshold Schnorr signature schemes by significantly reducing network overhead and supporting concurrent signing operations without compromising security. Its novel design includes safeguards against known forgery attacks, making it a robust and flexible tool for modern cryptographic applications. The Zcash Foundation supports the continued development and adoption of FROST as part of its mission to advance privacy-preserving infrastructure.
  4. $97,111 spent. Research: Technical decisions are best supported by scientific activities, such as rigorous validation, empirical measurement, and continued innovation and refinement. The Zcash Foundation therefore support these activities within our community. All cryptocurrencies, but especially Zcash, rely on cutting-edge contributions from the scientific research community, thus interaction with this community can also help the community stay healthy. We will encourage this scientific research and educate the public regarding the substance and benefits of these scientific developments.
  5. $526,476 spent. Community: The Zcash Foundation supports the expansion of Zcash into a large and healthy community with diverse stakeholders, held accountable to our user-base in the broadest sense. Our goal is creating tools that help sustain open networks, which enable individuals to protect their privacy on their own terms. Privacy comprises both autonomy and consent, which are essential to human dignity and the healthy continuation of civil society.

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

  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 December 2024.

    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 September 2017.

    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.