Funding

How is MII funded?

The Material Innovation Initiative is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization devoted to accelerating the development of sustainable, animal-free next-gen materials through research, knowledge-sharing, and facilitating connections. We are dedicated to being a resource for material companies, scientists, brands, entrepreneurs, and others interested in fostering a global market for sustainable materials across the fashion, automotive, and home goods industries.

MII relies on charitable contributions from philanthropic foundations, corporations, and individual donors for our programs and operations-related expenditure. We also welcome sponsorship support for special initiatives, event series, and research fellowships.

What We Have Accomplished

With Your Help

  • Since our founding in December 2019, we have grown from a $0 budget and 0 staff to an organization of more than 15 team members across 6 countries and 3 continents.
  • We have established our core programming of Science and Technology, Innovation, Brand Partnerships, Communications, and Operations, and authored numerous highly respected and well-circulated reports.
  • We have partnered with major industry players and hosted two conferences. We also established and run a next-gen material committee at the GlassWall Syndicate, a venture capital partnership with over 220 members.
  • We have also served as a valuable resource to numerous material companies, brands, scientists, and investors.
Nae Vegan Shoes

Nae Vegan shoes on beach – Credit – Nae Vegan Shoes x Piñatex

Our Next steps

Our goal is to create a circular economy for the fashion, automotive, and home goods industries.

In the coming years, we plan to globally scale our work through bold and transformative action that will make the sustainable option the easy option. We are excited about introducing these areas of work in the future and we need your help:

  1. Influence policy-making: By introducing fresh ideas on policy-making to spur sustainable development of the next-gen materials industry.
  2. Supply chain shift: Creating knowledge pathways for circular business models and white space opportunities to clean up unsustainable supply chains.
  3. Strengthen data-driven research in the textile industry: By creating a database of material companies and their performance data to share with fashion, automotive, and home goods brands.

Financial Responsibility

Wool texture

990 Annual Tax Filings

You can find our previous 990s below. MII was incorporated in December 2019 and received its 501(c)(3) charitable status from the US Internal Revenue Service on May 14, 2020.

2020 990
2021 990
2022 990

2023 990

GNL Friday Clutch Bag

GnL- Friday Clutch Bag – Credit – GnL

Audits

You can find our previous audits below. MII was incorporated in December 2019 and received its 501(c)(3) charitable status from the US Internal Revenue Service on May 14, 2020.

2020
2021
2022

MII Top Funders

We could not do what we do without the help of our most foundational funders, including:

Laudes foundation

Laudes Foundation

Open Philanthropy logo

Open Philanthropy Project

Mobius logo

Mobius

Food Systems logo

Food System Innovations

MII’S Certifications

Platinum transparency
2022 Great Nonprofit
2023 standout charity

Support

We are creating a collaborative ecosystem for the development of next-gen materials that are high-performance, animal-free, more sustainable, and that are considered true replacements for some of the most damaging materials on the market. If you would like to support us, you can do so in the donation link below.