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Dogwood Alliance Inc

EIN 56-2139120 · Asheville, NC

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong100 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

Dogwood Alliance advances environmental justice and climate action by mobilizing diverse voices to protect southern forests and communities from industrial logging.

Income
$3.9 million
Spending
$2.9 million
Spent on programs
76%
Reserves
15.2 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 95%
Employees
19
Volunteers
27
Highest pay
$154,656, executive director

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 86% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 15.2 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 2% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 24% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 41% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    76% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 5 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. $378,814 spent. Campaigns: Policies passed at a national level over the past several years provide major new subsidies for the biomass industry. In 2024 we led an effort to stop Enviva from receiving IRA subsidies, organized a tour of wood pellet impacts for 5 federal agencies, met with top officials from CEQ, DOE, and the White House, and cultivated two congressional champions from the South. We continued to play a support role relative to the Cut Carbon Not Forest Campaign in the UK and other campaigns in Europe. We are also part of a coalition working to leverage the EU policy on deforestation to protect Southern forests. Our collective, sustained campaigning in Europe and the UK has tempered the biomass industrys expansion. While the UK and EU markets are still driving wood pellet exports from the US South, markets in Asia - primarily Japan - are driving new expansion of wood pellet production in the Gulf region.
  2. $1.5 million spent. Organizing: At the state, and local levels, North Carolina continued to be a top priority for our organizing in 2024. Our work coordinating the Impacted Communities Against Wood Pellets continued to achieve results. NCDAQ required Enviva to reduce the fugitive dust pollution from its export facility in Wilmington. We launched a new effort demanding that NCDAQ require Enviva to do the same at all of its wood pellet mills in North Carolina. We organized a conference in Georgia with 9 organizations attended by over 200 people, Biomass was at the top of the agenda. Thus far, the organizing and legal strategies around the proposed wood pellet mills in Adel, Georgia have led to an indefinite delay in construction. This year we reached out to the community impacted by a wood pellet mill owned by FRAM in Lumber City which planned to expand production. The local opposition combined with a legal strategy resulted in the permit for that expansion being revoked. Over 80 residents in the small town of Gloster showed up to the public hearing to oppose Draxs permit to expand production. Meanwhile, Enviva was denied a local economic development grant in Mississippi, shuttering plans to expand wood pellet production in the state.
  3. $326,935 spent. Conservation: Our work to proactively protect forests through establishing community- owned forests has been focused in the Pee Dee Watershed of South Carolina. Against the backdrop of a culture that has largely accepted the working forest conservation and economic model, Dogwood Alliance and our local partners are charting a new course that puts community-led forest protection at the center of our conservation and rural economic development agenda. This work gained significant momentum in 2024 with the acquisition of 305 acres of wetland forests, including old-growth cypress, on the Little Pee Dee River. In partnership with New Alpha Community Development Corporation, we also initiated the development of a Justice Conservation Fund for Southern Forests and Communities to expand the acquisition of community forests throughout the South in areas impacted by the wood pellet biomass industry.

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 July 1999.

    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.