Mad Agriculture
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- It reported loans to or from officers, directors or other insiders.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
Mad Agricultures mission is to create a regenerative revolution in agriculture. Regenerative agriculture is a place-based relational approach to farming that restores soil health increases biodiversity and renews the ecological cultural and economic vitality of working lands. It draws from many traditions including scientific and ancestral to heal relationships between people land and the systems that sustain us.
- Income
- $2.5 million
- Spending
- $2.4 million
- Spent on programs
- 77%
- Reserves
- 8.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 78%
- Employees
- 13
- Volunteers
- 10
- Highest pay
- $196,563, executive director
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
Strong: 93 out of 100. Higher than 78% of charities in its peer group (food and agriculture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 8.7 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 6% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 1% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1577% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 6 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
Fair: 68 out of 100. Higher than 27% of charities in its peer group (food and agriculture, $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
0 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
0 of 10Reports at least one of: diversion of assets, excess benefits, 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)
- $524,519 spent. Regenerative Catalyst Fund: The Regenerative Catalyst Fund RCF is a nationwide program designed to help farmers implement regenerative and organic practices on their land. The fund aims to provide financial and technical assistance to farmers who are committed to transitioning from conventional farming practices to regenerative agriculture methods. The program is designed to be highly accessible and flexible facilitating a farmers move from design to action by covering the costs of inputs equipment labor and expert consultation. In 2024 Mad Agriculture provided $391,896 across 37 projects that impacted 122,799 acres of land. This program is supported by a USDA Conservation Innovation Grant CIG and is poised to become a major resource for the farmers ranchers and land stewards Mad Agriculture supports in our work.
- $467,008 spent. Mad Lands: Our Mad Land and Business team provides comprehensive support to farmers ranchers and land stewards through thought partnership business strategy financial assistance network connection and access to other regenerative experts. We specialize in annual and perennial system design with expertise in agroforestry grazing staple crops and wilding. Our team offers guidance in holistic management enterprise budgeting and regenerative organic transitions ensuring that farmers have the strategic tools to build resilient operations. We support project design and management while connecting farmers with technical assistance for implementation. Additionally we provide access to financial assistance through Mad Ags internal Regenerative Catalyst Fund RCF Restore Colorado and grant identification and writing support ensuring that regenerative projects receive the resources needed to thrive. In 2024 we began two major projects with wide ranging benefits and great potential for regeneration our Wilding Program and Bison Project with the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in Oklahoma. In 2024 we piloted the program on 4 farms in 3 states with 110 acres of newly perennialized diverse plantings adjacent to annual cropland. The bison project aims to restore native prairies and expand bison herds in and around Concho Oklahoma in partnership with Collaborative Earth and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes.
- $399,128 spent. Mad Media: The revolution in agriculture must be irresistible and it requires a movement of people businesses and land to create a new system. Our media work is igniting engagement in the regenerative movement by sharing its stories. Through a variety of storytelling mediums we are helping to explore and create the new agrarian culture. In these efforts we are dedicated to living the questions trusting that in the living we will find the answers. The art that we promote illuminates a connection to place to ecology and to a community of food. We lift up new voices. We spotlight the work of farmers who take radical and thoughtful approaches to their work. The Mad Agriculture Journal continued to serve as a cornerstone of MAD!s storytelling in2024 offering a biannual collection of essays photography and interviews that celebrate the people practices and philosophies driving the regenerative movement. Across the country our team hosted 17 Mad Agriculture events and spoke at 35 industry gatherings sharing insights with over 6,000 people in person. In 2024 Mad Media created Cultivating Conservation a dynamic storytelling platform that highlights the critical role of USDA conservation programs in supporting farmers and ranchers across the nation. The platform blends data with farmers stories to showcase the impact of these programs amplify the voices of regenerative farmers and allow viewers to explore both the quantitative and qualitative realities of leveraging USDA conservation dollars towards regeneration.
- $451,256 spent. Other program services were aggregated and added to line 4d to ensure total in line 4e ties to total in part IX. These programs include farm consulting.
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 October 13, 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 December 2019.
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 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.