Efi Foundation
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Educating the public on innovative evidence-based technology and policy solutions to complex energy challenges, combining rigorous analysis with a pragmatic approach to bridge the gap towards a low carbon energy future.
- Income
- $14.0 million
- Spending
- $12.1 million
- Spent on programs
- 80%
- Reserves
- 1.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 77%
- Employees
- 43
- Volunteers
- 5
- Highest pay
- $307,519, senior vice president
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: 65 out of 100. Higher than 29% of charities in its peer group (environment, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 1.5 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 41% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 14% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 239% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1580% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 5 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 35% of charities in its peer group (environment, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 255 of 7 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 (1)
- $9.7 million spent. In 2024, the three principal program service areas included clean energy finance, federal energy innovation program management, and clean hydrogen market formation. The Energy Futures Finance Forum (EF3) is a novel effort to identify policies and measures to expand the attractiveness of investment opportunities in clean energy to a broader cross-section of the investment community. The foundation issued several reports on this topic, including a framework report identifying potential additional sources of clean energy finance and a report on identifying opportunities to enhance investment opportunities in industrial carbon capture and storage. In 2024, the Foundation launched a new multi-year effort, the Nuclear Scaling Initiative, together with the Clean Air Task Force and the Nuclear Threat Initiative, to enable the expanded deployment of new nuclear energy generation. The foundation formed the Hydrogen Demand Initiative (H2DI), a consortium of six entities, to develop a novel program design to stimulate creation of new markets for clean hydrogen. The consortium conducted an extensive market assessment with outreach efforts to over 200 companies that expressed interest in hydrogen market formation. The project was a follow-on to previous work to identify the need for new policies and programs to enable the formation of regional markets for clean hydrogen in power generation, industrial, and commercial applications. Finally, the foundation continued work on a major study initiative on opportunities to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and agility of federally funded energy innovation programs and projects.
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 September 7, 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 September 30, 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 September 10, 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 September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since January 2022.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 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 7, 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.