American Geophysical Union
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
AGU'S MISSION IS TO ADVANCE AND SUPPORT AN INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY OF EARTH AND SPACE SCIENTISTS AND PARTNERS DEDICATED TO DISCOVERY AND SOLUTIONS TO SOCIETAL CHALLENGES. AGU SEEKS TO CATALYZE DISCOVERY AND SOLUTIONS TO SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIETAL CHALLENGES; PROMOTE AND EXEMPLIFY AN INCLUSIVE SCIENTIFIC CULTURE; AND PARTNER BROADLY WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND SECTORS TO EFFECTIVELY ADDRESS SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIETAL CHALLENGES.
- Income
- $56.2 million
- Spending
- $58.1 million
- Spent on programs
- 88%
- Reserves
- 5.2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 78%
- Employees
- 175
- Volunteers
- 21,000
- Highest pay
- $673,713, executive director & ceo
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
Weak: 46 out of 100. Higher than 15% of charities in its peer group (science, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 5.2 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 36% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 3% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 29% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1588% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 42 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 49% of charities in its peer group (science, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2514 of 14 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 (5)
- $18.1 million spent. MEETINGS: AGU HAS A DIVERSE MEETING PORTFOLIO THAT OFFERS MEETINGS OF VARIOUS SIZES AND FORMATS. MOST MEETING PARTICIPANTS PRESENT A POSTER AND/OR A TALK ON THEIR LATEST SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS CONTRIBUTING TO ADVANCING EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE. INDIVIDUALS MUST PAY A REGISTRATION FEE TO PARTICIPATE. THE ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS COVERING THEIR PRESENTATIONS ARE PUBLISHED AS PART OF THE SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM FOR EACH MEETING AND ARE AVAILABLE VIA AGU'S WEBSITE.THE AGU ANNUAL MEETING IS RECOGNIZED AS THE LEADING MEETING IN THE EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCES COMMUNITY WITH PROGRAMMING FOCUSED ON INTER- AND MULTIPLE DISCIPLINARY SCIENCES AND POLICY AND SOCIETAL ISSUES. IT IS THE LARGEST MEETING IN THIS FIELD ATTRACTING MORE THAN 31,000 PARTICIPANTS AT THE DECEMBER 2024 MEETING. THE AGU ANNUAL MEETING IN WASHINGTON DC SAW A RECORD NUMBER OF JOURNALISTS REGISTERED TO COVER THE CONVENING. MAJOR WORLDWIDE MEDIA OUTLETS WERE IN ATTENDANCE GENERATING HUNDREDS OF STORIES ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS ON EARTH AND SPACE ADVANCEMENTS. THE OCEAN SCIENCES MEETING IN NEW ORLEANS DREW A DIVERSE RANGE OF REGIONAL AND NATIONAL REPORTERS RESULTING IN A RECORD NUMBER OF PRESS CONFERENCES AND ROUNDTABLE SESSIONS. POSITIVE COVERAGE WAS ALSO CREATED WITH PRESS ACTIVITIES AT THE ABSCICON MEETING IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, AND THE WATERSCICON MEETING IN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA. IN ADDITION, THE TRIENNIAL EARTH AND SPACE SUMMIT IN APRIL IN DALLAS, TEXAS CREATED A MAJOR SOCIAL MEDIA MOMENT WITH SPECIAL LIVE COVERAGE OF THE SOLAR ECLIPSE FROM THE PATH OF TOTALITY WITH EXPERT ANALYSIS FROM ASTRONOMERS.THE CHAPMAN CONFERENCES AND AFFILIATED MEETINGS ARE SMALL TOPICAL CONFERENCES THAT FOCUS ON CURRENT AND EMERGING SCIENCE ISSUES. ONE CHAPMAN CONFERENCE WAS HELD IN 2024 WITH 200 ATTENDEES. THE TRIENNIAL EARTH SUN SUMMIT (TESS) WAS HELD IN APRIL 2024 IN DALLAS, TEXAS ATTRACTING OVER 400 ATTENDEES. TESS OCCURS EVERY THREE YEARS TO PROMOTE GREATER INTERACTION AND UNITY WITHIN THE HELIOPHYSICS COMMUNITY, AND ALSO ASTROPHYSICS AND PLANETARY PHYSICS. WATERSCICON WAS HELD IN JUNE 2024 IN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA WITH OVER 650 ATTENDEES. WATERSCICON ADVANCES HYDROLOGY AND RELATED GLOBAL CONVERGENT SCIENCE ISSUES AND HELPS ADDRESS AND EXPOSE LOCAL AND REGIONAL ISSUES WORLDWIDE.THE OCEAN SCIENCES MEETING IS THE FLAGSHIP CONFERENCE FOR THE OCEAN SCIENCES AND LARGER OCEAN-CONNECTED COMMUNITY. OSM CONVENES MORE THAN 5,000 PARTICIPANTS EVERY TWO YEARS IN FEBRUARY. THE 2024 MEETING HAD OVER 5,800 ATTENDEES IN NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA. THE MEETING GENERATES PRESS AND MEDIA STORIES ABOUT OCEAN SCIENCE IN PROMINENT SOURCES THROUGH DISTRIBUTION ON THE TELEVISION, NEWSPRINT AND THROUGH OTHER ELECTRONIC OUTLETS.
- $13.4 million spent. PUBLICATIONS - AGU PUBLISHES 24 JOURNALS PRESENTING PEER-REVIEWED RESEARCH PAPERS, AS WELL AS NUMEROUS BOOKS. THESE PUBLICATIONS COVER THE EARTH SCIENCES, PLANETARY SCIENCES, SOLAR-TERRESTRIAL AND SPACE PHYSICS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES. COVERAGE OF THE PAPERS HELP MAKE THESE SCIENTIFIC STUDIES AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. AGU HAS 11 FULLY OPEN ACCESS JOURNALS WHERE CONTENT IS FREELY AVAILABLE ONLINE IMMEDIATELY UPON PUBLICATION AND 13 HYBRID JOURNALS WHERE READERS WILL FIND SOME ARTICLES AVAILABLE VIA OPEN ACCESS AND OTHERS ONLY ACCESSIBLE VIA SUBSCRIPTION OR PURCHASE. ALL AGU JOURNAL CONTENT IS AVAILABLE ONLINE WHILE BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN PRINT. AGU PUBLICATIONS REACH MANY SCIENTISTS AND STUDENTS BEYOND THE AGU MEMBERSHIP, AS WELL AS OTHER MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, THROUGH MORE THAN 5,800 LIBRARIES, AND CONTENT AFTER 1997 AND OLDER THAN 24 MONTHS IS FREELY AVAILABLE. PUBLICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE IN OVER 150 COUNTRIES. AGU PUBLISHES MORE THAN 7,400 ARTICLES ANNUALLY.
- $11.6 million spent. COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA, PROGRAMS SEEK TO: 1) BUILD AND MAINTAIN AGU'S REPUTATION AS A LEADER, COLLABORATOR AND SOUGHT AFTER PARTNER WITHIN AND OUTSIDE OF THE EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE COMMUNITY; 2) PROMOTE AGU AND ITS PROGRAMS, INITIATIVES AND SERVICES TO CURRENT AND POTENTIAL MEMBERS, AS WELL AS TO THE BROADER EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE COMMUNITY; AND 3) EDUCATE THE PUBLIC, AT ALL LEVELS AND ACROSS ALL SECTORS, ON THE IMPORTANCE AND IMPACT OF THE EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCES, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO SOCIETAL WELL-BEING. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THESE AREAS DURING THE 2024 FISCAL YEAR INCLUDE: EXPANDING EOS.ORG, A NEWS WEBSITE DEDICATED TO PROVIDING TRUSTWORTHY NEWS AND PERSPECTIVES ABOUT THE EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCES AND THEIR IMPACT. EOS BUZZ, OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER GREW SUBSCRIPTIONS AND IMPROVED OUR ENGAGEMENT RATE BY DOUBLE DIGITS. THE MEDIA LAUNCH PROMOTING OUR ETHICAL FRAMEWORK ON CLIMATE INTERVENTION SAW WORLDWIDE COVERAGE IN ALL MAJOR CONSUMER AND SPECIALTY PUBLICATIONS. A ROBUST SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN ACCOMPANIED THE ACTIVITIES WITH THE REPORT TRANSLATED INTO 11 LANGUAGES.
- $6.1 million spent. SCIENCE - THE AGU SCIENCE DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR AGU TALENT POOL AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS PROVIDING SUPPORT TO AGU MEMBERS THROUGH ALL CAREER STAGES; AND FOR SERVING AS FOCAL POINT FOR SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM-RELATED ACTIVITIES WHICH CUT ACROSS AGU DISCIPLINESINCLUDING AREAS SUCH AS SCIENTIFIC ETHICS PROGRAMS, HONORS AND RECOGNITION PROGRAMS FOR AGU MEMBERS, AND FOR AGU SCIENTIFIC INITIATIVES SUCH AS THE THRIVING EARTH EXCHANGE PROGRAM.
- $2.1 million spent. SOCIETY ACTIVITIES AND MEMBERSHIP SERVICES.
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 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 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 December 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.
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.