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Amazon Conservation Association

EIN 52-2211305 · Washington, DC

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

AMAZON CONSERVATION UNITES SCIENCE, PEOPLE, AND INNOVATION TO PROTECT THE AMAZON - THE GREATEST WILD FOREST ON EARTH. AS GUARDIANS OF THE MOST ICONIC FOREST ON THE PLANET, WE BRING TOGETHER THE POWER OF THE LATEST SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND OUR CLOSE PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND GOVERNMENTS TO CREATE INNOVATIVE CONSERVATION SOLUTIONS THAT BALANCE THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE AND NATURE.TO PROTECT SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST DIVERSE LANDSCAPES WE: PROTECT WILD PLACES BY SUPPORTING GOVERNMENTS AND COMMUNITIES IN THE CREATION AND LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT OF KEY PROTECTED AREAS AND THE WIDER LANDSCAPE; EMPOWER PEOPLE BY PARTNERING WITH COMMUNITIES TO SUPPORT THEM TO STRENGTHEN THEIR FOREST BASED LIVELIHOODS AND PROTECT THEIR LANDS AND RESOURCES; AND PUT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO WORK BY CARRYING OUT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF AMAZONIAN CONSERVATIONISTS ROOTED IN OUR BIOLOGICAL STATIONS AND FIELD PROGRAMS IN THE ANDES-AMAZON.

Income
$4.8 million
Spending
$3.9 million
Spent on programs
81%
Reserves
3.3 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 87%
Employees
17
Volunteers
15
Highest pay
$224,592, president

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

Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 59% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    20 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 3.3 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 6% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 18% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 45% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    81% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 11 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 60% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    14 of 14 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, 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 (3)
  1. $1.3 million spent. PROTECTING WILD PLACES - AMAZON CONSERVATION PROTECTS CRITICAL ECOSYSTEMS AND BIODIVERSITY ACROSS THE AMAZON BASIN BY HELPING CREATE, MANAGE, AND CONSERVE INDIGENOUS TERRITORIES AND PROTECTED AREAS; ENSURING LANDSCAPE CONNECTIVITY ESSENTIAL FOR SPECIES SURVIVAL AND CLIMATE ADAPTATION; AND DIRECTLY ADDRESSING THREATS. TO DATE, OUR ALLIANCE HAS SUPPORTED THE CREATION OF 42 CONSERVATION AREAS PROTECTING MORE THAN 10.5 MILLION ACRES OF IRREPLACEABLE ECOSYSTEMS ACROSS PERU AND BOLIVIA. IN ADDITION, THROUGH OUR MONITORING OF THE ANDES AMAZON PROGRAM (MAAP) AND A NETWORK OF LOCAL PARTNERS ACROSS THE REGION, WE HELP MONITOR AND PROTECT THE GREATER AMAZON BASIN BY EMPLOYING STATE-OF-THE-ART SATELLITE IMAGERY, DRONES, MACHINE LEARNING, AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES TO DETECT IN REAL TIME AND COMBAT ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION FROM MINING, LOGGING, RANCHING, AND AGRICULTURAL CLEARING ACROSS A RANGE OF PROTECTED AREAS AND INDIGENOUS TERRITORIES IN BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, ECUADOR, AND PERU.
  2. $1.1 million spent. PUTTING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO WORK - AMAZON CONSERVATION DEVELOPS INNOVATIVE CONSERVATION SOLUTIONS USING CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. OUR ALLIANCE SISTER ORGANIZATIONS OPERATE WORLD-CLASS BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH STATIONS IN PERU AND BOLIVIA WHICH SERVE AS LIVING LABORATORIES TO CARRY OUT AND HOST ROBUST SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, FACILITATING LEARNING AND EDUCATION OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS AND CONSERVATIONISTS. BEYOND PIONEERING REAL-TIME FOREST CRIME DETECTION AND MONITORING, AMAZON CONSERVATION'S MAAP INTEGRATES THE LATEST ADVANCES IN SATELLITE-BASED TECHNOLOGIES, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND MACHINE LEARNING TO PROVIDE REGIONAL INTELLIGENCE ON AMAZON-WIDE THREATS. MAAP ALSO PROVIDES GOVERNMENTS AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WITH CRITICAL MONITORING, ANALYSIS, AND POLICY SUPPORT ON ROADS, FIRES, CARBON, CLIMATE, AND OTHER MAJOR THEMES SO THAT THEY CAN TAKE INFORMED ACTION TO AVOID REACHING THE AMAZON'S TIPPING POINT. FURTHER BIODIVERSITY HEALTH MONITORING IS SUPPORTED BY THE TROPICS' LARGEST CAMERA TRAP GRID IN BOLIVIA AND PERU; AN INNOVATIVE AMAZONIAN FRUITS AND CLIMATE CHANGE OBSERVATORY THAT PROVIDES LOCAL PRODUCERS AND DECISION-MAKERS IN BOLIVIA WITH DATA ON SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION FROM THEIR FORESTS; AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF MONITORING PLATFORMS THAT ENABLE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES, CIVIL SOCIETY, AND GOVERNMENTS TO DETECT AND RESPOND TO FOREST CRIMES WITHIN MOMENTS, RATHER THAN YEARS, FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORMING FOREST PROTECTION EFFORTS ACROSS THE BASIN.
  3. $764,973 spent. EMPOWERING PEOPLE - AMAZON CONSERVATION EMPOWERS LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES THROUGH OUR COLLECTIVE EFFORTS TO BUILD A SUSTAINABLE FOREST-BASED ECONOMY THAT FUELS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE FOR THE REGION. ALONG WITH THESE LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS, WE WORK CLOSELY WITH COMMUNITIES AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS TO PROVIDE THE TOOLS NEEDED TO STOP DEFORESTATION, ESPECIALLY ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION, TO ENSURE THE LONG-TERM PROTECTION OF THEIR NATURAL RESOURCES. WITH SUPPORT FROM SEVERAL INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUALS SINCE OUR INCEPTION 25 YEARS AGO, AMAZON CONSERVATION AND OUR ALLIANCE SISTER ORGANIZATIONS IN PERU AND BOLIVIA HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARD ESTABLISHING A SUSTAINABLE, CLIMATE-RESILIENT, FOREST-BASED ECONOMY ACROSS 37 MILLION ACRES IN THE AMAZON. BY SUPPORTING DOZENS OF PRODUCER ASSOCIATIONS IN SCALING UP THE SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION, PROCESSING, MARKETING, AND SALES OF MAJOR FOREST PRODUCTS LIKE AA BERRIES AND BRAZIL NUTS, WE CREATE ECONOMICALLY VIABLE ALTERNATIVES TO DESTRUCTIVE PRACTICES LIKE SLASH-AND-BURN AGRICULTURE AND MINING. WE CONTINUE TO DEEPEN THIS WORK THROUGH DIVERSIFYING PRODUCTION WITH OTHER FOREST-BASED PRODUCTS, CREATING NEW MARKET CONNECTIONS, AND EXPANDING TO OTHER REGIONS, INCLUDING THE NEIGHBORING STATE OF ACRE IN BRAZIL.PRESENTLY IN FIVE COUNTRIES ACROSS THE AMAZON, WE WORK DIRECTLY WITH COMMUNITIES, FELLOW CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS, INDIGENOUS GROUPS, AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO PROTECT THEIR LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES. WITH A FOCUS ON HALTING ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES, WE PROVIDE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, CIVIL SOCIETY, AND GOVERNMENTS WITH REAL-TIME INFORMATION ON DEFORESTATION CAUSED BY ILLEGAL GOLD MINING, LOGGING, AND OTHER DRIVERS. IN ORDER TO ENABLE RAPID AND EFFECTIVE RESPONSES, WE ARE BUILDING THE CAPACITY ACROSS A COALITION OF LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITIES TO TAKE ACTION, ENGAGE GOVERNMENT, AND ADVOCATE FOR IMPROVED POLICIES AND PROTECTION OF THE REGION'S FORESTS AND WATERS.

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

  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 September 7, 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 September 30, 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 September 10, 2026.

  4. 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 September 7, 2026.

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

    Recognized by the IRS since September 2000.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 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 October 7, 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.