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Climate Central Inc

EIN 26-1797336 · Princeton, NJ

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood85 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

CLIMATE CENTRAL, INC. (THE ORGANIZATION") IS AN INDEPENDENT NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION OF LEADING SCIENTISTS, TECHNOLOGY EXPERTS AND COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONALS THAT ARE DEDICATED TO RESEARCHING AND REPORTING ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACTS AND SOLUTIONS. THE ORGANIZATION SURVEYS AND CONDUCTS SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND INFORMS THE PUBLIC AND DECISION MAKERS OF KEY FINDINGS. THE ORGANIZATION IS NOT AN ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION AND DOES NOT LOBBY OR SUPPORT ANY SPECIFIC LEGISLATION, POLICY OR BILL REGARDING CLIMATE CHANGE.

Income
$22.3 million
Spending
$11.5 million
Spent on programs
78%
Reserves
4.1 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 98%
Employees
57
Volunteers
9
Highest pay
$391,991, ceo & chief scientist

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 68% of charities in its peer group (science, $10m to $100m).

  • Reserves

    20 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 4.1 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 7% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 48% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 228% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    78% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 6 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 49% of charities in its peer group (science, $10m to $100m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    9 of 9 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 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 (4)
  1. $3.3 million spent. ATTRIBUTION SCIENCE + CLIMATE FINGERPRINTS: THE ORGANIZATION PLAYED A LEAD ROLE IN TRANSFORMING THE PUBLIC NARRATIVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT SOME EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO CLIMATE CHANGE, A CLAIM VALIDATED BY THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES IN 2016. THIS PIONEERING RESEARCH IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF HOW THE ORGANIZATION'S SCIENTISTS HELPED CHANGE THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CONVERSATION. THE ORGANIZATION CONTINUES TO ADVANCE SCIENCE THAT WILL ENABLE THE QUANTIFICATION OF CLIMATE FINGERPRINTS IN WORLDWIDE LOCAL WEATHER DAILY A TRUE GRAIL FOR CLIMATE COMMUNICATIONS. TO ACHIEVE THIS IMPACT, THE ATTRIBUTION SCIENCE + CLIMATE FINGERPRINTS PROGRAM DEVELOPS TOOLS TO HELP REVEAL HOW CLIMATE CHANGE IS DISRUPTING OUR WORLD. ITS FIRST OPERATIONAL TOOL, THE CLIMATE SHIFT INDEX, PROVIDES DAILY ESTIMATES OF HOW CLIMATE CHANGE IS IMPACTING AIR TEMPERATURE.
  2. $2.1 million spent. CLIMATE MATTERS: CLIMATE MATTERS IS A CLIMATE REPORTING RESOURCE PROGRAM GROUNDED IN THE LATEST SCIENCE THAT HELPS METEOROLOGISTS AND JOURNALISTS REPORT ON CLIMATE IMPACTS AND SOLUTIONS IN WAYS THAT ARE LOCAL, IMMEDIATE, AND PERSONAL. THE ORGANIZATION'S TEAM OF SCIENTISTS, DATA ANALYSTS AND VISUAL ARTISTS IDENTIFY AND INTERPRET DATA AND PRODUCE EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND TEXT AND VISUAL MATERIALS, INCLUDING GRAPHICS, INTERACTIVE CONTENT AND VIDEOS, TO HELP JOURNALISTS BUILD STORIES THAT WILL ENGAGE AND ENLIGHTEN THEIR AUDIENCE. THE ORGANIZATION'S REPORTING TOOLS ARE AVAILABLE, FREE OF CHARGE, TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN TELLING ENGAGING LOCAL, SCIENCE-BASED STORIES ABOUT HOW GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE IS IMPACTING THEIR COMMUNITY, WHY IT MATTERS, AND WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT.
  3. $763,506 spent. REALTIME CLIMATE: REALTIME CLIMATE IS AN INITIATIVE TO DISPATCH TIMELY ALERTS AND RELATED CONTENT TO METEOROLOGISTS, OTHER JOURNALISTS, AND OTHER SUBSCRIBERS WHEN CURRENT LOCAL CONDITIONS PRESENT A NOTABLE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMUNICATE ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE, ITS IMPACTS, OR ITS SOLUTIONS. AT REALTIME CLIMATE'S CORE IS A CONTINUALLY UPDATED SOFTWARE SYSTEM THAT MONITORS A GROWING RANGE OF DATA STREAMS FROM LOCAL WEATHER FORECASTS TO COASTAL WATER LEVELS TO LOCAL RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION. WHEN KEY THRESHOLDS ARE MET, THE SYSTEM ASSEMBLES RELATED CONTENT, LARGELY LEVERAGING RESEARCH AND MATERIALS FROM THE CLIMATE MATTERS, SEA LEVEL RISE, AND ATTRIBUTION PROGRAMS, AND SENDS ALERTS TO SUBSCRIBERS IN THE AREAS EXPERIENCING THRESHOLD CONDITIONS. SUBSCRIBERS INCLUDE PARTICIPANTS IN THE CLIMATE MATTERS PROGRAM AND MANY STAKEHOLDERS OF THE SEA LEVEL RISE PROGRAM, AS WELL AS ANYONE WHO OPTS IN USING AN ONLINE FORM ON CLIMATE CENTRAL'S WEBSITE.
  4. $2.9 million spent. SEA LEVEL RISE: THE ORGANIZATION'S PROGRAM ON SEA LEVEL RISE STRIVES TO PROVIDE SCIENCE-BASED, CLEAR AND GRANULAR INFORMATION ABOUT SEA LEVEL RISE AND COASTAL FLOOD HAZARDS BOTH LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY, TODAY AND TOMORROW. ANCHORED IN RIGOROUS PRIMARY RESEARCH, THE ORGANIZATION'S WORK DISTINGUISHES ITSELF BY ITS USER-FRIENDLY MAPS AND TOOLS, EXTENSIVE DATASETS, AND HIGH-QUALITY VISUAL PRESENTATIONS. THE PROGRAM DEDICATES ITS EFFORTS TO HELPING JOURNALISTS, CITIZENS, COMMUNITIES, BUSINESSES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND GOVERNMENTS AT EVERY LEVEL TO UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES OF DIFFERENT CARBON PATHWAYS AND TO NAVIGATE THE SHIFTING WATERS OF OUR WARMING WORLD. FLOODVISION: FLOODVISION, AN INNOVATIVE TOOL DEVELOPED BY CLIMATE CENTRAL, USES ADVANCED DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES, AI-BASED ALGORITHMS, AND INTUITIVE SOFTWARE TO PRODUCE SCIENCE-BASED AUGMENTED-REALITY PHOTOS OF SPECIFIC LOCATIONS. USERS CAN CHOOSE OPTIONAL VIEWS TO CONTRAST MEANINGFUL SCENARIOS IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS, SUCH AS PROJECTED SEA LEVELS BASED ON DIFFERENT CARBON PATHWAYS OR LOCAL STORM SURGE FORECASTS FROM APPROACHING HURRICANES. FLOODVISION IS DESIGNED TO EMPOWER THE ORGANIZATION'S BROAD MEDIA NETWORKS, AS WELL AS LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AGENCIES, NGOS AND OTHER COASTAL STAKEHOLDERS, SUCH AS EMERGENCY MANAGERS WHO CAN USE THE IMAGERY TO STRENGTHEN EVACUATION WARNINGS AND OTHER SAFETY MEASURES. THIS HELPS THE PUBLIC AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS BETTER VISUALIZE AND UNDERSTAND THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. 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.

  2. 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 November 6, 2026.

  3. 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.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since November 2008.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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 November 4, 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.