Corvallis Sustainability Coalition
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
To promote an ecologically, economically, and socially healthy city and county through democratic decision-making processes consistent with our guiding objectives.
- Income
- $185,721
- Spending
- $177,856
- Spent on programs
- 75%
- Reserves
- 20.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 88%
- Employees
- 5
- Volunteers
- 483
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
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 81% of charities in its peer group (environment, under $250k).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 20.7 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 4% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 23% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1575% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 10 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. Higher than 89% of charities in its peer group (environment, under $250k).
Independent board
25 of 2510 of 10 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.
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 (4)
- $56,670 spent. Community Outreach, Engaging Volunteers, and Creating an Inclusive Community: As a network of nearly 400 partner organizations (businesses, nonprofit organizations, faith communities, educational institutions, and local government units) and hundreds of individual volunteers, the Coalition provided grassroots leadership, inspiration, resources, and opportunities for collaboration in working on sustainability issues. The Coalition invited the community to its annual and quarterly meetings, where attendees had the opportunity to network and share information about sustainability issues, and numerous presenters among the partner organizations and 12 action teams presented their sustainability accomplishments. The monthly Sustainability Events Calendar also provided opportunities for community members to learn about our partners' activities. The Education Action Team supported educational initiatives to instill sustainability knowledge in students at local public schools; the programs focused on food waste composting in school cafeterias and education on the environmental impacts of plastics. In addition, a donation was made to the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation for the Green Apple Award to be given to school district staff who make contributions to sustainability education. In March 2024 the Coalition hosted its annual Sustainability Fair and Town Hall event, which attracted more than 500 attendees, to foster community involvement and awareness of sustainability. The Sustainability Fair featured locally sourced food, musicians, and over 60 interactive sustainability exhibits. The Town Hall focused on the connection between the arts and sustainability, and the featured speakers were representatives from The Arts Center, The Spring Creek Project, and Tarweed Folk School. Also, the Coalition co-sponsored the 8th annual Champinefu Series, designed to inspire the Corvallis community to acknowledge, understand, and collaborate with the Kalapuya culture. The three-session series included evenings of singing, dancing and webinars on camas and indigenous place-keeping. The Neighborhood Roots program completed its 3rd year of increasing shade equity by planting native trees in South Corvallis. The Coalition's Steering Committee continues to implement an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Framework by requiring an Equity Impact Assessment for new projects and including discussion of EDI resources as part of their monthly meetings. In addition to $56,670 of cash expenditures for community outreach, engaging volunteers, and creating an inclusive community, a facility rental valued at $5,495 was donated for the Sustainability Fair and Town Hall event and technology services valued at $1,046 were donated for website development and maintenance.
- $32,237 spent. Fostering a Sustainable Local Food System and Encouraging Waste Prevention: The Food Action Team continued to partner with Corvallis-Benton County Public Library to offer a Public Seed Library stocked with commercial seed packets. Over 1,000 new and partially used seed packets were donated and distributed. Five pop-up Vegetable Garden Plant Clinics were sponsored with support from Benton County OSU Extension and Master Gardeners. Also, the team distributed nearly 1,000 copies of the 2024 Corvallis Garden Resource Guide and organized an Edible Garden Tour in NE Corvallis that featured five home gardens, one school garden, and three local artists. Their Neighborhood Planters Kiosks, located at 28 residential and public sites, displayed new educational flyers and event announcements every week to support gardening and neighborhood connections. And, in partnership with Corvallis-Benton County Public Library and Corvallis Community Center, the team sponsored a 3rd successful year of "Cooks and Books", pairing library cookbooks with the talents of local chefs and showcasing a variety of ethnic cuisines. The No Food Left Behind program of the Waste Prevention Action Team continued to table at local farmers' markets and reach children and families through bilingual videos and classroom presentations. They also distributed hundreds of "Smart Strategies" in English and Spanish, teaching how and why to prevent wasted food at home. They also distributed hundreds of countertop composting pails to make sure inedible food scraps make it from kitchen-to-compost instead of from lunch-to-landfill. The Recycling Block Captains program distributed three separate handouts, educating their neighbors about reducing use of plastic bottles, the Library of Things, and upcycling items instead of throwing them away. The team continued to offer both print and online versions of the Corvallis-Area ReUse Directory to help residents find find local places that accept items for reuse, repair and recycling.
- $22,865 spent. Protecting Natural Areas and Supporting Sustainable Transportation: The Water Action Team engaged 145 community members and 231 students in projects to regenerate local wetlands and creeks at 10 culturally relevant sites. They expanded the riparian buffer at the Bald Hill Natural Area next to the newly released north branch of Dunawi Creek, while at Starker Arts Pack they continued to regenerate a functional wetland. In addition, at Lamprey Creek in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, the team removed non-native plant species and planted more than 200 native shrubs, trees and herbaceous plants, spread many loads of mulch, and watered young plants during the dry season. The Natural Areas Action Team organized the 15th annual Natural Areas Celebration Week to raise awareness and appreciation of Benton County's natural areas. The Transportation Action Team, which is working to make Corvallis more livable by promoting walking, biking and use of public transit, co-sponsored the 6th annual Open Streets with the City of Corvallis. The event featured a mile of walkable, bikeable streets for people to explore neighborhoods around Corvallis and fun activities for people of all ages. In addition, team volunteers turned car trips into bike trips by hauling portable bike racks (by bike) to community events such as SAGE Concerts, Greenbelt's Music on the Land, Open Streets, Septembeerfest, and Corvallis Fall Festival. And the team continued to raise awareness about safer multimodal street design by sponsoring a webinar series presented by OSU and Oregon Department of Transportation representatives. They also organized an electric vehicle Show & Tell event, bringing together current and potential owners of electric cars, e-bikes, and scooters.
- $22,159 spent. Acting on Climate Change by Making Buildings More Energy Efficient and Shifting to Renewable Energy: The Energy Action Team continued its Shift Together initiative, a 5-year campaign to enhance energy efficiency and renewable energy access for the community. Generous federal and state incentives and rebates are key to the campaign. In collaboration with Seeds for the Sol and Energy Trust of Oregon, 99 home energy assessments were provided to low-to-middle income households and individualized consultations to upper middle- and upper-income homeowners to explore available energy efficiency incentives and improvements. In addition, a home energy fair connected community members with contractors and nonprofit organizations about their energy efficiency needs and funding opportunities. Also, with support from local donors and community investors, the team was able to fund solar installations at OSU's Beth Ray Center, Peavy Hall and Richardson Hall. Each Solarize Corvallis project helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while saving the host organizations significant costs on their monthly electric bills. Since 2020 Solarize Corvallis has completed 15 large-scale projects in the community. The Saving Green program provided free assistance to more than 100 Corvallis businesses and nonprofits, including promotion of Energy Trust's no-cost LED lighting and other Energy Trust incentives. Local workplaces that implemented energy efficiency upgrades reduced their carbon blueprints, saving both energy and costs on their monthly power bills.
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 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 November 6, 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 December 2024.
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 February 2010.
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 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.