Ecosystem Services Market Consortium
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
ESMC IS A NON-PROFIT THAT WORKS TO COMPENSATE FARMERS AND RANCHERS WHO IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH THEIR AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES. OUR MARKET PROGRAM REDUCES GREENHOUSE GASES, IMPROVES WATER QUALITY, AND INCREASES OTHER ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TO BENEFIT SOCIETY.
- Income
- $4.5 million
- Spending
- $3.6 million
- Spent on programs
- 80%
- Reserves
- 7.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 67%
- Employees
- 18
- Volunteers
- 10
- Highest pay
- $244,500, president
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
Good: 78 out of 100. Higher than 49% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 7.4 months of spending.
Debt
5 of 20It owes 52% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 20% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 34% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1580% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 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: 90 out of 100. Higher than 42% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 259 of 9 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
0 of 10Did not give 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 (1)
- $2.9 million spent. ECOSYSTEM SERVICES MARKET CONSORTIUM (ESMC) IS A NON-PROFIT, MEMBER-BASED ORGANIZATION THAT RECOGNIZES AND REWARDS FARMERS AND RANCHERS FOR THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES TO SOCIETY. ESMC MEMBERS REPRESENT THE SPECTRUM OF THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR SUPPLY CHAIN WITH WHOM WE ARE SCALING SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR OUTCOMES, INCLUDING INCREASED SOIL CARBON, REDUCED NET GREENHOUSE GASES, AND IMPROVED WATER QUALITY AND WATER USE CONSERVATION. WE LAUNCHED ECO-HARVEST, A VOLUNTARY, NATIONAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES MARKET PROGRAM IN MAY 2022. (CONTINUED ON SCH O) DURING 2025, WE CONTINUED TO ENGAGE AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN AND SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNERS IN MARKET PROGRAM INNOVATION, TESTING, AND REFINEMENT TO FURTHER BUILD OUR PROGRAM. REFINEMENTS TO PROTOCOLS, DATA COLLECTION, PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND PARTNERSHIP ENGAGEMENT MODELS PROCEEDED, AS DID EFFORTS TO TEST AND EMBED ADVANCED TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES INTO OUR PLATFORM. THE RESULTS INCLUDE CONTINUED PROGRAMMATIC STREAMLINING AND ACHIEVEMENT OF CRITICAL COST-EFFICIENCIES TO ENABLE SCALED PROGRAM OPERATIONS. WITH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF A GRANT FROM THE FOUNDATION FOR FOOD & AGRICULTURE RESEARCH (FFAR) AND FROM MANY ADDITIONAL FUNDERS, MEMBERS, AND COLLABORATORS, WE HAVE ACHIEVED CRITICAL PROGRESS SINCE LAUNCHING OUR PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN 2019 AND ECOHARVEST IN 2022. AS OF THE END OF 2025, WE HAD 11 PROJECTS ACROSS THE US AND CANADA WITH 232,581 ACRES ENROLLED. WE CONTINUED TO WORK TOWARD SCALING THESE PROGRAMS, WITH A GOAL OF ENROLLING 445,000 ACRES BY THE END OF 2026. THE MAJORITY OF THESE ACRES ARE ROW CROPS, WITH A FOCUS ON CORN, SOY, WHEAT, AND COTTON. IN ADDITION, WE CONTINUE TO PILOT PROJECTS IN GRAZING (BEEF) AND DAIRY SYSTEMS. WE LAUNCHED A PROTOCOL FOR WATER QUALITY OUTCOMES AND RELEASED V2 OF OUR WATER QUALITY TOOL THAT CONNECTS FIELD LEVEL OUTCOMES TO WATERSHEDS, ALLOWING CORPORATES TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR SOURCING IMPACTS THE LARGER ECOSYSTEM. OUR PILOT CONVERTING EDGE-OF-FIELD AREAS TO NATIVE SPECIES IN KANSAS CONTINUES AND THE ESMC BIODIVERSITY TOOL AND PROTOCOL WILL LAUNCH IN Q2 2026. WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH A NEW MODELING SERVICE PROVIDER, HABITERRE, AND HAVE TRANSITIONED OUR PROGRAM TO FOCUS ON INVENTORY ACCOUNTING, ALLOWING CORPORATES TO MEET CLIMATE COMMITMENTS, SUCH AS SBTI.WE CONTINUE TO WORK TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED PRODUCERS. IN 2025, WE DEVELOPED THE ECOHARVEST PROJECT MAPPING TOOL TO MAP CARBON SEQUESTRATION POTENTIAL AND IMPAIRED WATERWAYS ACROSS THE LOWER 48. THIS WORK HELPS PRIORITIZE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT IN THOSE AREAS WITH THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR POSITIVE CARBON AND WATER OUTCOMES. THIS MAPPING TOOL WAS MADE AVAILABLE TO ESMC MEMBERS AS A KEY MEMBER BENEFIT.ON THE BUYER FRONT, WE SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED A CO-CLAIMING/CO-INVESTMENT MODEL WITH TWO CORPORATE PARTNERS. A BUYER OF IMPACT UNITS CAN CLAIM A SHARE OF EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS OR REMOVALS WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS IN THE VALUE CHAIN; CO-CLAIMING IS A UNIQUE FEATURE OF SCOPE 3. CO-CLAIMING TRANSACTIONS ARE TRACKED ON SUSTAINCERT'S VIVID PLATFORM TO PREVENT DOUBLE-COUNTING AND TRACK APPROPRIATE VOLUME OF TRANSACTIONS. UTILIZING THIS PROGRAM AS A TEMPLATE, WE ARE REPLICATING THIS CO-CLAIMING MODEL WITH OTHER EXISTING AND EMERGING PROJECTS. THIS IS A POWERFUL PROGRAM OFFERING TO BOOST PROGRAM ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY AND SCALE.WE WORKED TO IMPROVE OUR PAYMENT MODEL BY GATHERING FEEDBACK FROM FARMERS AND ON-THE-GROUND PARTNERS. GIVEN THIS FEEDBACK, WE IMPLEMENTED A HYBRID PAYMENT MODEL THAT PROVIDES PARTICIPATING FARMERS UPFRONT PAYMENTS FOR PRACTICE IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOME PAYMENTS ONCE OUTCOMES HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED. WE TESTED THIS MODEL IN PROJECTS THROUGHOUT 2025.
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 June 2021.
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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