Nonprofit · EIN 47-2856470
SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Tax-exempt · SANTA CRUZ, CA 95060
Financials
| Year ended | Form | Revenue | Expenses | Net income | Total assets | Liabilities | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2025 | 990 | $359,864 | $283,639 | $76,225 | $247,778 | $0 | $247,778 |
| December 31, 2024 | 990 | $458,051 | $322,587 | $135,464 | $172,954 | $0 | $172,954 |
| December 31, 2023 | 990 | $163,217 | $163,217 | $0 | $93,822 | $0 | $93,822 |
Financial details: 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025
Revenue
- Contributions, gifts and grants
- $359,784
- of which government grants
- $46,068
- Program service revenue
- $0
- Investment income
- $80
- Other revenue
- $0
Expenses
- Grants and similar amounts paid
- $0
- Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
- $0
- Other salaries and wages
- $62,955
- Salaries, compensation and benefits (total)
- $69,076
- Professional fundraising fees
- $0
- Legal fees
- $30,090
- Accounting fees
- $3,900
- Travel
- $1,723
- Program services (functional)
- $248,831
- Management and general (functional)
- $34,808
Balance sheet and other
- Total assets, start of year
- $171,553
- Total assets, end of year
- $247,778
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $0
- Net assets, end of year
- $247,778
- Net assets without donor restrictions
- $13,000
- Net assets with donor restrictions
- $234,778
- Gross receipts
- $359,864
- Employees
- 3
- Volunteers
- 2
- Year formed
- 2015
- State of legal domicile
- CA
From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.
Officers, directors and key employees
As listed on the 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025, highest compensation first.
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin W Bell | Vice President Trustee or director, Officer, Key employee | 2 | $0 |
| Ronnie D Lipschutz | President Trustee or director, Officer, Key employee | 15 | $0 |
| Adina Paytan | Treasurer Trustee or director, Officer | 0 | $0 |
| Dustin Mulvaney | Board Member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Ann Lopez | Board Member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Sheila Davis | Board Member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Marisha Farnsworth | Board Member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Steven Mentor | Board member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Beatriz Smith | Board members Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Thomas Rettenwender | Board member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
990 for the year ended December 31, 2024: 10 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin W Bell | Vice President Trustee or director, Officer | 5 | $2,766 |
| Ronnie D Lipschutz | President Trustee or director, Officer | 10 | $0 |
| Adina Paytan | Treasurer Trustee or director, Officer | 1 | $0 |
| Dustin Mulvaney | Board Member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Ann Lopez | Board Member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Sheila Davis | Board Member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Marisha Farnsworth | Board Member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Steven Mentor | Board member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Beatriz Smith | Board members Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Thomas Rettenwender | Board member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
990 for the year ended December 31, 2023: 12 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marisela Lara | Employee Key employee | 7.6 | $14,858 |
| Ami Chen Mills | Executive Director Key employee | 17.3 | $12,926 |
| Ronnie D Lipschutz | President Trustee or director, Officer, Key employee | 25 | $0 |
| Kevin W Bell | Vice President Trustee or director, Officer, Key employee | 20 | $0 |
| Adina Paytan | Treasurer Trustee or director, Officer | 0 | $0 |
| Dustin Mulvaney | Board Member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Ann Lopez | Board Member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Sheila Davis | Board Member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Marisha Farnsworth | Board Member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Steven Mentor | Board member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Beatriz Smith | Board members Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
| Thomas Rettenwender | Board member Trustee or director | 0 | $0 |
Address and contacts
- Address (IRS master file)
- 2861 MISSION ST, SANTA CRUZ, CA 95060-5756
- Mailing address (990-N for 2020)
- 2861 MISSION ST, SANTA CRUZ CA 95060
- Principal officer (990 for 2025)
- Ronnie D Lipschutz, 213 Dickens Way, Santa Cruz, CA 950641066
- Principal officer (990-N for 2020)
- Ronnie Lipschutz, 213 Dickens Way, Santa Cruz CA 95064
- Signed the 990
- Ronnie Lipschutz, President
- Phone
- (831) 588-7625
California records
California keeps its own records of charities and corporations. Search them by EIN 47-2856470 or by the name SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOUNDATION.
- Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers
- Registration status and filed reports (CT-TR-1, RRF-1)
- Secretary of State, bizfile Online
- Corporation status, entity number, agent for service
- Franchise Tax Board
- Entity status letter (state tax exemption, good standing)
Mission
The Sustainable Systems Research Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit green think tank and project incubator based in Santa Cruz, California. SSRF seeks to: Address complex and wicked environmental and sustainability problems that confound communities, defy singular technical or social solutions and cannot be addressed successfully at a global scale. Bring together numerous stakeholders with competing interests, capacities and approaches while addressing the critical importance of equity and justice. Collaborate with partner organizations to incubate and develop local projects and programs that promote community sustainability and development. Pursue projects that are replicable and scalable, based on best practices and insights drawn from successful projects. Our philosophy is that a project or program implemented successfully at one site can be replicated in many other places, with appropriate adjustments to local conditions.
Program accomplishments
- SSRF collaborated with Esperanza Farms on a NIFA-USDA Farm to Cafeteria project which provided fresh produce and salads to several schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District.Expenses $39,990 · grants $39,990
- SSRF fiscally sponsored and supported Regeneration, a project to provide technical assistance and other services to disadvantaged operators of small farms (less than 50 acres) on the Central Coast of California and to develop a training curriculum for extension instructors and farmers.Expenses $49,145 · grants $9,862 · revenue -$39,283
- SSRF continued its work related to solar community energy systems.Expenses $6,594 · grants $5,000 · revenue -$1,594
- SSRF took on Fiscal sponsorship of Protect San Benito County a project to preserve open space and farmland from development.Expenses $103,102 · grants $225,000 · revenue $121,898
- SSRF conducted a field experiment to see whether applications of compost to farm fields would reduce nitrate infiltration into groundwater.Expenses $50,000 · grants $1,750 · revenue -$48,250
What it must file and when
IRS records say it files Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N. Its accounting year ends in December, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.
| Tax year | Year ended | Due | IRS public records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | December 31, 2025 | May 15, 2026 | 990 on file |
| 2024 | December 31, 2024 | May 15, 2025 | 990 on file |
| 2023 | December 31, 2023 | May 15, 2024 | 990 on file |
IRS record
- EIN
- 47-2856470
- Tax-exempt status
- 501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization
- Foundation status
- Publicly supported organization (509(a)(2))
- Donations deductible (Pub 78)
- Public charity, 50% deduction limit
- Exempt since
- 2016
- Accounting year ends
- December
- Files
- Form 990 or 990-EZ
- Category (NTEE)
- Human services (P05)
- Assets (IRS master file)
- $247,778
- Income (IRS master file)
- $359,864
Filing history
| Form | Year ended | Revenue | Expenses | Assets | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 990 | December 2025 | $359,864 | $283,639 | $247,778 | XML |
| 990 | December 2024 | $458,051 | $322,587 | $172,954 | XML |
| 990 | December 2023 | $163,217 | $163,217 | $93,822 | XML |
| 990-EZ | December 2022 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990-EZ | December 2021 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990-N for 2020 Officer: Ronnie Lipschutz | December 31, 2020 | ≤ $50,000 receipts | – | – | e-Postcard |
| 990-N for 2019 Officer: RD Lipschutz | December 31, 2019 | ≤ $50,000 receipts | – | – | e-Postcard |
990-N: the IRS bulk file holds only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years come from archived copies of that file since 2020 and can have gaps (the IRS e-Postcard search lists every one). 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS (search EIN 47-2856470).
Questions about SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOUNDATION
- What is the EIN of SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOUNDATION?
- The employer identification number (EIN) of SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOUNDATION is 47-2856470.
- Is SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOUNDATION tax-exempt?
- Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 2016.
- Are donations to SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOUNDATION tax-deductible?
- Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).
- Which annual return does SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOUNDATION file?
- Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N.
- When is the next return of SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOUNDATION due?
- The return for tax year 2026 (the year ending December 31, 2026) is due May 17, 2027. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.
- When did SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOUNDATION last file with the IRS?
- The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended December 2025.
- Who is the principal officer of SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOUNDATION?
- The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 names Ronnie D Lipschutz.
- Who are the officers and directors of SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOUNDATION?
- The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 lists 10 people; 0 received compensation from the organization.
- How much revenue does SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOUNDATION have?
- On its 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 it reported revenue of $359,864, expenses of $283,639 and total assets of $247,778 at year end.
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