National Audubon Society Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
WE WORK TOWARDS A FUTURE WHERE BIRDS THRIVE ACROSS THE AMERICAS BECAUSE AUDUBON IS A POWERFUL, DIVERSE, AND EVER-GROWING FORCE FOR CONSERVATION. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O).
- Income
- $197.3 million
- Spending
- $199.5 million
- Spent on programs
- 80%
- Reserves
- 4.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 73%
- Employees
- 1,185
- Volunteers
- 7,500
- Highest pay
- $1.0 million, chief executive officer
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 78 out of 100. Higher than 79% of charities in its peer group (environment, over $100m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 4.7 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 8% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 1% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 32% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1580% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 18 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 16% of charities in its peer group (environment, over $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2519 of 20 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 June 30, 2025, 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)
- $159.1 million spent. AUDUBON HAS NOW REACHED THE MIDPOINT OF FLIGHT PLAN, OUR BOLD AND TRANSFORMATIVE 2023-2028 STRATEGIC VISION TO FORGE A FUTURE WHERE BIRDS THRIVE ACROSS THE AMERICAS WHILE MAXIMIZING BENEFITS FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET. AUDUBON'S CONSERVATION PROGRAMS ADDRESS THE DUAL CHALLENGES OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY LOSS BY DRIVING IMPACT IN FOUR KEY AREAS: CONSERVING PRIORITY HABITATS, ADVANCING CLIMATE SOLUTIONS, CHAMPIONING TRANSFORMATIONAL PUBLIC POLICY, AND GROWING AND BROADENING THE COMMUNITY OF BIRD ENTHUSIASTS ACROSS THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE WHO TAKE CONSERVATION ACTION. GUIDED BY SCIENCE AND STRENGTHENED BY PARTNERSHIPS, AUDUBON'S CONSERVATION EFFORTS ARE DEDICATED TO PROTECTING BIRDS AND THE PLACES THEY NEED, TODAY AND TOMORROW. AS A HEMISPHERIC ORGANIZATION, WE BRING OUR COLLECTIVE POWER TO "BEND THE BIRD CURVE" - HALTING AND ULTIMATELY REVERSING THE SHARP DECLINE OF BIRD POPULATIONS ACROSS THE AMERICAS. AUDUBON'S CONSERVATION EFFORTS ARE CARRIED OUT THROUGH ITS NORTH AMERICAN AND LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN TEAMS, EACH LED BY MANAGING DIRECTORS. NORTH AMERICA ENCOMPASSES 15 STATE AND REGIONAL OFFICES IN THE U.S., THE CANADA PROGRAM, AND TEAMS DEDICATED TO HABITAT AND CLIMATE STRATEGIES FOR THE REGION. ADDITIONALLY, THE TEAM INCLUDES 32 CONSERVATION ACTION CENTERS AND 29 SANCTUARIES ACROSS THE U.S. AUDUBON'S LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN PROGRAM OVERSEES THE ORGANIZATION'S HABITAT AND CLIMATE INITIATIVES ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN. TEAMS FOCUSED ON COMMUNITY BUILDING AND POLICY, UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF MANAGING DIRECTORS, ARE DEVELOPING UNIFIED ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR OUR GOALS ACROSS THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. THEY PARTNER CLOSELY WITH TEAMS IN NORTH AMERICA, LATIN AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN. COMMUNITY BUILDING GUIDES THE ORGANIZATION'S APPROACH TO CONSERVATION ACTION CENTERS AND SANCTUARIES, OVERSEES OUR COLLABORATION WITH OVER 400 ACTIVE COMMUNITY CHAPTERS AND 100 CAMPUS CHAPTERS, AND DRIVES PROGRAMMATIC OPPORTUNITIES AND COMMUNITY SCIENCE INITIATIVES IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE AMERICAS. POLICY DEVELOPS STRATEGIES FOR POLICY PRIORITIES AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, LEVERAGING OUR SCIENCE AND POLICY EXPERTISE TO ADVANCE OUR OBJECTIVES. THE TEAM ALSO BUILDS AND ACTIVATES THE AUDUBON COMMUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR THESE PRIORITIES. CONSERVATION FUNDING, EQUITABLE CONSERVATION, PARTNERSHIPS, AND SCIENCE ARE PROGRAMS THAT SPAN THE CONSERVATION TEAM, DRIVING IMPACT TOWARD THE CONSERVATION MILESTONES AND SUPPORTING THE NORTH AMERICAN AND LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN TEAMS AND OUR COMMUNITY BUILDING AND POLICY PRIORITIES. AUDUBON IS ACHIEVING MEASURABLE PROGRESS TOWARD ITS CONSERVATION MILESTONES: HABITAT CONSERVATION: TO DATE UNDER FLIGHT PLAN, AUDUBON IS INFLUENCING MORE THAN 200 MILLION ACRES (80.9M HA) - AN EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENT THAT INCLUDES OVER 80.3 MILLION ACRES (32.5M HA) ALREADY CONSERVED AND ANOTHER 152.2 MILLION ACRES (61.5M HA) IN THE PIPELINE. THIS PROGRESS ADVANCES OUR AMBITIOUS GOAL OF CONSERVING 300 MILLION ACRES OF BIRD HABITAT BY 2028. KEY HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: A HISTORIC MILESTONE WAS ACHIEVED IN JULY WITH THE DECLARATION OF THE LOMA SANTA INDIGENOUS CONSERVATION AREA IN BOLIVIA, WHICH SPANS NEARLY 500,000 ACRES, SHELTERS 250 BIRD SPECIES, AND SAFEGUARDS THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF FIVE INDIGENOUS GROUPS. IT IS THE LARGEST PROTECTED AREA ESTABLISHED TO DATE THROUGH CONSERVA AVES, A PARTNERSHIP LED BY AUDUBON, AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY, BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL, BIRDS CANADA, AND THE LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN NETWORK OF ENVIRONMENTAL FUNDS (REDLAC). CONSERVA AVES CONNECTED AND CONSERVED MORE THAN 660,000 ACRES IN 2025 ALONE. MARYLAND'S SALT MARSH LANDSCAPE IS DECLINING AT AN ALARMING RATE, WITH SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS TO FISH, SHELLFISH, BIRDS, AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES - A CRISIS WITH PARALLELS IN MANY COASTAL AREAS. TO COUNTER IT, AUDUBON COLLABORATED WITH LOCAL PARTNERS AND PUBLIC AGENCIES TO LAUNCH THE MARSHES FOR TOMORROW PROJECT. THE PROJECT HAS IDENTIFIED 29,000 PRIORITY ACRES OF SALTMARSH FOR PROTECTION AND RESTORATION AND SECURED A $13.2 MILLION GRANT FROM THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES TO ADVANCE PROJECTS THAT WILL SUPPORT THIS HABITAT. THESE EFFORTS WILL NOT ONLY HELP PROTECT VULNERABLE SPECIES LIKE THE SALTMARSH SPARROW, BUT ALSO STRENGTHEN THE ECONOMIES AND RESILIENCE OF COASTAL COMMUNITIES THAT RELY ON AGRICULTURE, TOURISM, AND FISHING. IN 2025, AUDUBON'S COASTAL PROGRAMS IN TEXAS PROTECTED 175 COASTAL ROOKERY ISLANDS ACROSS THE GULF COAST - CRITICAL HAVENS FOR MORE THAN 60,000 BREEDING PAIRS OF WATERBIRDS FROM 27 SPECIES. AUDUBON'S CONSERVATION EFFORTS ALONG THE GULF COAST DELIVER MEASURABLE BENEFITS FOR BIRDS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES - SUPPORTING BIODIVERSITY AND PROTECTING NATURAL SYSTEMS THAT BUFFER STORMS AND STORE CARBON FOR A MORE RESILIENT TEXAS COAST. THROUGH ISLAND OWNERSHIP, LONG-TERM LEASES, COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS, AND PROACTIVE STEWARDSHIP, WE ARE MINIMIZING HUMAN DISTURBANCE AND HELPING ENSURE SAFE NESTING CONDITIONS IN THIS HEMISPHERICALLY SIGNIFICANT ECOSYSTEM THAT ANCHORS THE CENTRAL FLYWAY. AUDUBON PROTECTED NEARLY 200,000 ACRES IN FLORIDA THIS YEAR, INCLUDING MORE THAN 60,000 ACRES WITHIN THE GREATER EVERGLADES ECOSYSTEM. AS A CULMINATION OF AUDUBON'S RESEARCH ON LONG-TERM CHANGES AT CORKSCREW SWAMP SANCTUARY, THE SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT LAUNCHED A THREE-YEAR RESTORATION PLANNING EFFORT. THE PUBLICLY FUNDED CORKSCREW WATERSHED INITIATIVE IS EXPECTED TO DIRECT MORE THAN $2 BILLION TOWARD RESTORATION PROJECTS ACROSS OVER 640,000 ACRES - WITH CORKSCREW SWAMP SANCTUARY AT ITS CORE. CLIMATE ACTION: TO DATE, AUDUBON HAS ADVANCED 70 PROJECTS THAT ACCELERATE DECARBONIZATION WHILE PROTECTING IMPORTANT HABITAT, MOVING FORWARD NEARLY 40 GIGAWATTS OF RENEWABLE GENERATION AND 10 GIGAWATTS OF TRANSMISSION. WE HAVE ALSO SEQUESTERED AND STORED 6.1 BILLION TONS OF CARBON, WITH AN ADDITIONAL 14.7 BILLION TONS PROJECTED FROM LANDSCAPES WHERE LASTING PROTECTION AND RESTORATION ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY -
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, 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 June 2025.
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 November 1972.
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.
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