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World Resources Institute

EIN 52-1257057 · Washington, DC

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair60 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

WRI IS COMMITTED TO CREATING CHANGE THAT IMPROVES PEOPLE'S LIVES AND ENSURES THE NATURAL WORLD CAN THRIVE. (SEE SCHEDULE O)WRI'S BOLD VISION REQUIRES A FORMULA FOR SUCCESS WE CALL "COUNT IT. CHANGE IT. SCALE IT.": - COUNT IT: OUR WORK IS GUIDED BY TIMELY, INDEPENDENT RESEARCH THAT IS SUBJECTED TO RIGOROUS PEER REVIEWS. - CHANGE IT: WE THEN USE OUR RESEARCH TO INFORM ACTION ON THE GROUND, CLEAR BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTATION AND THEN MONITOR PROGRESS TO LEARN FROM IT. - SCALE IT: ONCE TESTED, WE STRIVE TO EXPAND OUR SUCCESSES NATIONALLY, REGIONALLY AND GLOBALLY, AND WE MAKE OUR LEARNINGS ACCESSIBLE THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS, PUBLICATIONS AND TOOLS. WE EMPLOY THIS STRATEGY ACROSS ALL OUR MAJOR PROGRAMS AND CENTERS.

Income
$213.0 million
Spending
$270.2 million
Spent on programs
92%
Reserves
3 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 68%
Employees
1,067
Volunteers
28
Highest pay
$808,385, president & ceo

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Fair: 60 out of 100. Higher than 38% of charities in its peer group (international, over $100m).

  • Reserves

    20 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 3.0 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 7% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    0 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 27% of income.

  • Income trend

    5 of 15

    Income fell 20% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    92% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 2 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 20% of charities in its peer group (international, over $100m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    24 of 25 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 September 30, 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. $100.3 million spent. FOOD, LAND, WATER, AND OCEAN PROGRAM - SEE SCHEDULE OWRI FOCUSES ON SEVEN URGENT GLOBAL CHALLENGES: FOOD, FORESTS, WATER, OCEAN, CITIES, CLIMATE AND ENERGY. FOOD: TO HELP THE WORLD SUSTAINABLY FEED ITS PEOPLE, WRI IS CATALYZING ACTION TO CUT FOOD LOSS AND WASTE IN HALF BY 2030, SHIFT TOWARD PLANT-BASED DIETS AND MAKE A COMPELLING CASE FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD AND LAND SYSTEMS. LAND: WRI PROTECTS FORESTS AGAINST LOSS AND DEGRADATION AND RESTORES FORESTS IN LANDSCAPES WHERE THEY ARE NEEDED MOST. WE TRACK FOREST CHANGE, COMBAT DEFORESTATION AND ILLEGAL LOGGING, AND HELP COMMUNITIES AND BUSINESSES MANAGE LAND MORE SUSTAINABLY.WATER: WRI WORKS TO INCREASE WATER SECURITY. OUR AQUEDUCT TOOLS ARE THE WORLD'S BEST SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON GLOBAL WATER RISK AND STRESS. OUR WATER, PEACE AND SECURITY PARTNERSHIP EARLY WARNING TOOL HELPS PREVENT WATER SCARCITY FROM DRIVING CONFLICT AND MIGRATION. OUR CITIES4FORESTS INITIATIVE HELPS PROTECT WATERSHEDS AND OTHER NATURAL SYSTEMS.OCEAN: WRI SEEKS TO ACCELERATE SYSTEMIC SHIFTS TO SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND PUT THE OCEAN ON A RECOVERY PATH. WE PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN TWO HIGH-PROFILE INITIATIVES: THE HIGH-LEVEL PANEL FOR SUSTAINABLE OCEAN ECONOMY AND THE FRIENDS OF OCEAN ACTION - TO HELP DRIVE A GLOBAL OCEAN MOVEMENT.
  2. $63.4 million spent. CLIMATE, ECONOMICS, FINANCE, AND GOVERNANCE - SEE SCHEDULE OCLIMATE: WRI WORKS TO ADVANCE CLIMATE STRATEGIES THAT CUT GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS WHILE CREATING STRONG, JOB-RICH, EQUITABLE AND RESILIENT ECONOMIES. WE DEVELOP TOOLS AND CONDUCT ANALYSES THAT MEASURE EMISSIONS, SET AMBITIOUS TARGETS AND TAKE BOLD ACTION. ECONOMICS: WRI CONDUCTS ANALYSIS AND MODELING TO IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND ADVANCE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT IS GOOD FOR PEOPLE, NATURE, AND CLIMATE.FINANCE: WRI PROMOTES THE SHIFT OF GLOBAL FINANCE AND INVESTMENTS AWAY FROM ENVIRONMENTALLY DESTRUCTIVE ACTIVITIES TOWARD SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. GOVERNANCE: WRI AIMS TO BUILD A RESILIENT, JUST AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE BY WORKING WITH THE PUBLIC SECTOR, THE PRIVATE SECTOR, CIVIL SOCIETY AND CITIZENS TO ADDRESS ISSUES THAT MATTER MOST TO VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES.
  3. $45.2 million spent. WRI ROSS CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIES - SEE SCHEDULE OTHE WRI ROSS CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIES HELPS TURN CITIES INTO RESILIENT, INCLUSIVE, LOW-CARBON PLACES. THROUGH APPLIED RESEARCH, TOOLS AND ADVICE, OUR INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF EXPERTS WORK ON INNOVATIVE PROJECTS THAT PUT CITIES ON A SUSTAINABLE TRAJECTORY.
  4. $38.3 million spent. WRI POLSKY CENTER FOR THE GLOBAL ENERGY TRANSITION: DELIVERS PRAGMATIC, SCALABLE AND URGENTLY NEEDED SOLUTIONS TO ACHIEVE A CLEAN, ABUNDANT, AFFORDABLE AND RELIABLE ENERGY FUTURE.ENERGY: WRI COLLABORATES WITH POLICYMAKERS, CITIES, COMPANIES, UTILITIES, REGULATORS AND DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS TO SECURE A FUTURE IN WHICH PEOPLE EVERYWHERE HAVE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE, CLEAN AND RELIABLE ENERGY. BUSINESS: WRI'S CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS WORKS TO CHANGE THE APPROACH OF BUSINESS TO MAKE A POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION TO HUMAN WELL-BEING AND THE ENVIRONMENT. OUR WORK CENTERS ON THREE MAIN INITIATIVES: THE SCIENCE BASED TARGETS INITIATIVE DRIVES CORPORATE ACTION THAT ALIGNS WITH PLANETARY BOUNDARIES; WE ENCOURAGE CIRCULAR ECONOMY MODELS TO PROMOTE ALTERNATIVES TO UNCHECKED CONSUMPTION; AND WE SUPPORT POLICY ENGAGEMENT TO SHIFT BUSINESS INFLUENCE ON GOVERNMENT POLICY. WRI ALSO PLAYS A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN TWO MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PARTNERSHIPS: PACE, WHICH SEEKS TO ADVANCE A CIRCULAR ECONOMY, AND P4G, WHICH SUPPORTS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PUBLIC- PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.PROGRAM DESCRIPTION EXPENSES GRANTS REVENUEENERGY $ 21,147,368 $ 6,487,409 $ 0SPECIAL PROJECTS $ 11,725,807 $ 4,271,622 $ 896,591BUSINESS CENTER $ 5,439,441 $ 2,460,747 $ 0

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 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 September 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 July 1982.

    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.

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