Cadasta Foundation
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
CADASTA FOUNDATION AIMS TO BE THE LEADING PROVIDER OF TECHNICAL TOOLS AND SERVICES TO SUPPORT THE DOCUMENTATION OF LAND AND RESOURCE RIGHTS TO BUILD STRONGER, MORE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.
- Income
- $2.2 million
- Spending
- $3.0 million
- Spent on programs
- 67%
- Reserves
- 8.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 43%
- Employees
- 10
- Volunteers
- 9
- Highest pay
- $228,146, chief executive officer
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
Fair: 63 out of 100. Higher than 27% of charities in its peer group (international, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 8.1 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 13% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 37% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 56% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1567% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 30 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 64% of charities in its peer group (international, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 258 of 8 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, 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 (3)
- $886,072 spent. PARTNER DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT:THE OVERALL SUCCESS OF CADASTA'S CHARITABLE AND HUMANITARIAN PURPOSES RELIES ON ENGAGING AND INVOLVING MOTIVATED AND TRUSTED PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS (CHARITABLE, ACADEMIC, CIVIL SOCIETY, AND PEOPLES ORGANIZATIONS, GOVERNMENTS, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS) IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT MORE EFFICIENT, TRANSPARENT AND EQUITABLE LAND GOVERNANCE AND TENURE SECURITY FOR LAND HOLDERS. CADASTA ACTS AS A FACILITATOR AND NETWORK PARTNER AMONG STAKEHOLDERS, ENABLING THE COLLECTION, USE, AND MANAGEMENT OF DATA ACROSS COMMUNITIES. GEOSPATIAL AND SOCIAL DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS ENABLES RELEVANT SECTOR ACTIVITIES, SUCH AS AGRICULTURAL SERVICES, UPGRADING OF INFORMAL SETTLEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF FORESTS AND OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES.CADASTA ENABLES COLLECTION AND SHARING OF LAND RIGHTS DATA THROUGH DATA PORTALS, DASHBOARDS, AND STORYMAP TOOLS TO SUPPORT PARTNER AND COMMUNITY ADVOCACY AND DECISION-MAKING. CADASTA'S ESRI-BASED TOOLS ENABLE GOVERNMENTS, CHARITIES, CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS, PEOPLES ORGANIZATIONS, AND COMMUNITIES TO CONFIGURE DATA COLLECTION TOOLS AND APPROACHES TO THE NEEDS OF A PARTICULAR COMMUNITY OR ORGANIZATION. THE CADASTA PLATFORM SECURELY STORES LAND AND RESOURCE RIGHTS DATA AND ALLOWS PARTNERS TO SET PRIVACY LEVELS, CONSOLIDATE THEIR LAND TENURE AND ATTRIBUTE INFORMATION, AND TO VISUALIZE AND SHARE DATA AS NEEDED FOR ANALYZING AND ADDRESSING COMMUNITY NEEDS.UNDER CADASTA'S GRANT PROGRAM, THE INITIATIVE AIMS TO EMPOWER LOCAL PARTNERS TO ENHANCE THEIR ABILITIES TO DOCUMENT, MAP, CONTROL AND MANAGE LAND, ITS RESOURCES AND ASSOCIATED DATA. ADDITIONALLY, CADASTA FACILITATES ACCESS TO FUNDING FOR TRAINING, CAPACIITY BUILDING AND FIELD ACTIVITIES.GOVERNMENT PARTNERS: CADASTA WORKS WITH OVER 25 GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ACROSS ITS PROJECTS. GOVERNMENT LAND OFFICIALS RECEIVE TRAINING, SUPPORT DATA COLLECTION, AND ISSUE LAND DOCUMENTS TO FORMALIZE RIGHTS. CADASTA HAS SIGNED MOUS AND COLLABORATIONS WITH MINISTRIES OF LAND AND OTHER RELEVANT AGENCIES AT THE DISTRICT AND LOCAL LEVELS IN UGANDA, GHANA, INDIA, RWANDA, AND OTHER COUNTRIES. LOCAL PARTNERS WORK WITH GOVERNMENT BODIES AT ALL LEVELS DURING THE RIGHTS FORMALIZATION PROCESS.
- $753,516 spent. TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM:CADASTA DELIVERS TRAINING PROGRAMS ON COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF LAND RIGHTS DATA TO TRAINERS AND PARTNERS IN THE FIELD TO ENSURE THAT INDIVIDUAL USERS AND COMMUNITIES UNDERSTAND LAND RIGHTS INFORMATION AND TO ENCOURAGE RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP OF THE DATA. TRAINEES INCLUDE THOSE PREPARING TO BE TRAINERS, PROJECT LEADS, PLATFORM USERS, PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND LOCAL DATA COLLECTORS, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON BUILDING LOCAL CAPACITY. CADASTA DELIVERS TRAINING TO RWANDAN LAND OFFICIALS AND FIELD MAPPERS THROUGH A CO-IMPACT FUNDED PROJECT WITH LANDESA, AND WITH UGANDAN OFFICIALS.THE GOAL OF CADASTA'S TRAINING IS EDUCATIONAL: TO TEACH SKILLS RELATED TO COLLECTION, DOCUMENTATION, VISUALIZATION, AND MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION RELATED TO PROPERTY, LAND, AND RESOURCE RIGHTS AND TO FOSTER OPEN AND COLLABORATIVE COMMUNICATION THAT CUTS ACROSS VARIOUS DISCIPLINES AND SECTORS.CADASTA'S PLATFORM PROVIDES USER GUIDES AND TRAINING MATERIALS THROUGH DIRECT PARTNER TRAINING. CADASTA ALSO PROVIDES REMOTE AND ONSITE TRAINING, AN ONLINE DEMO ENVIRONMENT, AND A GLOBAL METRICS DASHBOARD THAT SHARES ANONYMIZED PROJECT AND GLOBAL PROJECT DATA. THESE TOOLS AND INFORMATION ARE PROVIDED TO SUPPORT LAND DATA COLLECTION AND USE OF DATA TO SUPPORT ADVOCACY AND INCREASED TENURE SECURITY.CADASTA ENGAGES IN THOUGHT LEADERSHIP BY PUBLISHING ARTICLES AND THOUGHT PIECES ON PROJECT RESULTS, BOTTOM-UP LAND ADMINISTRATION APPROACHES, USE OF GIS TECHNOLOGY TO ADVANCE LOCAL RIGHTS AND DEVELOPMENT, AND EVIDENCE OF IMPACT. CADASTA TEAM MEMBERS PRESENT AS SPEAKERS IN GLOBAL PROFESSIONAL, INDUSTRY, AND SECTORAL FORUMS TO PROMOTE ITS WORK AND APPROACHES TO CHANGE PRACTICES IN LAND ADMINISTRATION IN WAYS THAT EMPOWER COMMUNITIES AND RESULT IN SUSTAINABLE OUTCOMES IN COMMUNITY RIGHTS, AGRICULTURE, URBAN DEVELOPMENT, FORESTS, WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT AND CLIMATE.
- $365,990 spent. PLATFORM AND MOBILE APPS FOR LAND TENURE DOCUMENTATION, FORMAL RIGHTS RECOGNITION, LAND AND RESOURCE MONITORING, AND DATA MANAGEMENT AND STORAGE:CADASTA'S CORE ACTIVITY TO FURTHER ITS CHARITABLE PURPOSES IS OUR GLOBAL PLATFORM AND MOBILE DATA COLLECTION APPLICATIONS, DEPLOYED AS EASY TO USE, COST EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT ESRI-BACKED TOOLS TO RECORD LAND AND RESOURCE RIGHTS RELATED INFORMATION. THIS GLOBAL PLATFORM ENABLES RECORDATION OF RIGHTS, PARTICULARLY FOR THOSE LEFT OUT OF FORMAL LAND SYSTEMS. IN ADDITION, THE PLATFORM HAS THE ABILITY TO SAFELY AND SECURELY STORE DATA RELATED TO LAND AND RESOURCES BASED ON OUR PARTNER NEEDS. THE PLATFORM IS SCALABLE AND SECURE, ENSURING PREVENTION OF DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL OR PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION.THE PRIMARY BENEFICIARIES OF THIS WORK ARE DISADVANTAGED AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES WITH INADEQUATE OR LACK OF LAND TENURE SECURITY. CADASTA MAKES THE PLATFORM AVAILABLE TO PARTNERS AND USERS IN SUCH COMMUNITIES AS PART OF A PACKAGE THAT INCLUDES SYSTEM ACCESS THROUGH LOG-INS AND CADASTA TRAINING AND SERVICES. THE PLATFORM ALSO SERVES AS A REPOSITORY OF RELATED RESOURCE DATA, SUCH AS SATELLITE IMAGERY, A LIVING ATLAS, DATA LAYERS, ANALYSIS AND REPORTING TOOLS, AND OTHER GEOSPATIAL DATA, WHICH HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN DIFFICULT TO ACCESS FOR NON-STATE ACTORS. ONE OF THE GOALS IS TO ENABLE GOVERNMENTS, COMMUNITIES, AND INDIVIDUALS IN LOWER RESOURCE CONTEXTS TO INTERACT WITH AND CONTRIBUTE DATA THROUGH FIT-FOR-PURPOSE APPROACHES TO SECURING LAND AND RESOURCE RIGHTS. MOBILE AND SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN ESTABLISHING FIT-FOR-PURPOSE TOOLS AND METHODOLOGIES TO IMPROVE LAND GOVERNANCE IN REMOTE AND UNDERRESOURCED COMMUNITIES. CADASTA ALSO SUPPORTS DATA MIGRATION AND INTEGRATION FOR PARTNERS AND GOVERNMENTS TO CONSOLIDATE THEIR DATA INTO CADASTA'S HIGH-QUALITY PLATFORM WITH A BROAD SET OF FUNCTIONS AND TO VISUALIZE OTHER RELEVANT DATA SETS IN MAPS, DASHBOARDS AND OTHER FORMATS.TO DELIVER THE PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY, CADASTA WORKS WITH INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM PARTNERS THAT WORK IN THE AREA OF LAND GOVERNANCE, PROTECTION OF INDIGENOUS TERRITORIES AND RESOURCE RIGHTS, CONSERVATION, CLIMATE, AND UPGRADING OF INFORMAL URBAN SETTLEMENTS. SOME OF THE PARTNERS ARE BASED IN THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, RRI AND LANDESA, WHILE OTHER NGOS ARE BASED OUTSIDE OF UNITED STATES, SUCH AS TENURE FACILITY, COOL EARTH AND OTHERS. PARTNER AGENCIES ARE GENERALLY EITHER SECTION 501(C)(3) PUBLIC CHARITIES, INTERNATIONAL CHARITIES, NATIONAL CHARITIES, OR GOVERNMENT ENTITIES.CADASTA'S KEY DELIVERY PARTNERS ARE LOCAL AND NATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ORGANIZATIONS, NGOS, AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WORKING IN RURAL, URBAN, AND FOREST AREAS AROUND THE WORLD, SUCH AS ARCH VAHINI, PRADAN, COLANDEF, CONFENIAE, UNIPA, VSG, FUNDAPAZ AND MANY OTHERS.
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
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 December 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 July 2015.
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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