Rainforest Alliance Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
SEE SCHEDULE O
- Income
- $100.2 million
- Spending
- $107.2 million
- Spent on programs
- 84%
- Reserves
- 5.8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 71%
- Employees
- 116
- Volunteers
- 21
- Highest pay
- $542,926, chief executive officer
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
Good: 70 out of 100.
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 5.8 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 29% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 7% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 17% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1584% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 14 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.
Independent board
25 of 2521 of 21 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 (2)
- $74.7 million spent. Landscapes and Communities - This program advances long-term, landscape-level initiatives to support sustainable, community-based development in communities vulnerable to ecological and social destruction, including farming certification projects, thereby encouraging farmers to use best practices in environmental protection, social equality, and economic viability and forest communities to harvest and manufacture forest products in a sustainable way. This also includes evaluating and communicating program impacts and developing and implementing effective, scientifically based strategies, programs, and projects through monitoring, evaluation, and results-based management that follows industry best practice. Here we help rural communities build inspiring partnerships with companies, governments, and local NGOs. Together, we tackle complex and interconnected challenges that are simply too big to be taken on alone-from climate change and deforestation to human rights and rural poverty. During 2024, we had 83 active landscape and community programs - covering 25+ million hectares and five critical regions bringing together companies, governments and local NGOs to tackle the kind of complex and interconnected challenges that no one can solve alone. 1. Mesoamerica With its sprawling Selva Maya rainforest and a vibrant mix of Indigenous cultures, this region stands at the forefront of our globally recognized community forestry work. We also partner with farming communities across Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua to drive sustainability across key sectors including bananas and coffee. There are 130k+ people benefiting from L&C programs and 1.5m hectares covered by L&C programs. 2. South America Home to the magnificent Amazon rainforest and many of the world's leading coffee-producing countries, this part of the globe plays a crucial role in the future of regenerative farming. In Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, we work alongside local farming communities to advance nature-friendly ways of growing coffee, cocoa, flowers, bananas, avocados, and more. Here there are 40k+ people benefitting and 1M+ hectares covered by L&C programs. 3. West and Central Africa The biodiversity-rich landscapes of West and Central Africa are shaped by rural economies nestled among vast forests. Here we work hand in hand with local communities in Cameroon, Cte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ghana to restore forests, build sustainable forest-based enterprises, and transform the cocoa sector. There are 404k+ people benefiting and 14.9M hectares covered by L&C programs. 4. East and Southern Africa From vast savannahs to towering, snow-capped peaks, the landscapes of East and Southern Africa are a stunning mosaic of diverse terrains and ecosystems. We work in vulnerable landscapes throughout Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda to restore balance between coffee and tea farming communities and the precious forests around them. There are 287k+ people benefiting and 482k+ hectares covered by L&C programs. 5. Asia Pacific The landscapes of Asia Pacific are steeped in breathtaking biodiversity and a rich agricultural heritage. Here we're helping coffee, tea, and cocoa farmers advance sustainable and regenerative growing practices across India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and beyond. There are 433k+ people benefitting and 7m+ hectares covered by L&C programs. We ensure our landscapes programs amplify the voices of those who call these extraordinary places home. Rainforest Alliance takes a 'boots on the ground' approach; more than 50% of our expert staff are based in these key landscapes or in the wider region working side-by-side with rural communities to design and implement inspiring initiatives to overcome system challenges in farming and forestry. We estimate 1.3M people directly benefit with $394M invested since 2003 and for 2024 $33.5M sales revenue generated by small and medium sized farming and forestry businesses.
- $15.6 million spent. MARKETS TRANSFORMATION (SEE SCHEDULE 0) Markets Transformation - This program helps organizations across the forestry, agriculture, and tourism value chains to successfully integrate sustainability into their business practices from sustainable production to sustainable consumption. This also includes outreach and education of the public on certification standards and sustainable practices and producing and publishing studies focused on forestry, agriculture, and certification. In 2024, we leaned into our ethos of continuous improvement to lay the groundwork for an exciting new wave of solutions- both within and beyond certification - that aim to deliver even greater benefits for farmers, communities, and businesses alike. In 2024, we listened extensively to feedback from farmers and companies and conducted a thorough review of our certification requirements. The result of those efforts is Version 1.4 of our Sustainable Agriculture Standard-coming into effect in October 2025. The updated standard features streamlined requirements and strengthened data quality. Alongside this, we will also introduce our new Regenerative Agriculture Standard as the first of three specialized certification solutions to be released in 2025 and 2026. During 2024 we have 7.9 million farmers and workers on certified farms; 6+ million hectares of certified farmland; 7,855 company partners and working in 62 countries with certified farms and programs. Approximately 99% of certified farms are fun by smallholder (i.e., famer cultivating < 10 hectares of land) farmers across 3.1 million farms; the average smallholder farm size is 2.31 hectares. Consumers can purchase products with the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal in over 155 countries on 40k+ products; companies buy enough Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee to make 333M cups of coffee each day; and companies buy enough Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa to make 96M chocolate bars each day. In 2024, we optimized our robust certification and due diligence tools to help both certified and non-certified coffee and cocoa companies prepare to meet EUDR requirements ahead of the December 2025 deadline. For certified partners, these tools are offered for free as part of certification. With growing calls for supply chain transparency, we began developing our Sourcing Risk Assessment-a comprehensive service that will provide companies with reliable data and actionable insights to identify and address farm-level risks in their supply chains. Mount Kenya's Coffee and Tea Farmers Find Transformation Through Regeneration Launched in 2020, our Mount Kenya Sustainable Landscape and Livelihoods program supports certified coffee and tea farming communities to adopt regenerative agriculture practices that heal the land and uplift communities. Through 2024, 34,254 certified coffee and tea farmers in Mount Kenya transitioned to regenerative agriculture practices with 106,300 trees planted, 106+ hectares of degraded land restored, and 202 jobs created (64% of which were women and youth).
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 July 1987.
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.