North Carolina Climate Justice Collective
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
movement ecosystem to address the root causes of climate change. Using popular education and cultural organizing, we ignite social transformation. We center all our work in the leadership of youth, Black, Indigenous and people of color, women, low wealth people, and LGBTQI+ people to create strategic alignment. We are bringing an end to fracked gas infrastructure, coal ash pollution, industrial agriculture and forest destruction while planting the seeds of a life-sustaining, regenerative society.
- Income
- $1.1 million
- Spending
- $1.1 million
- Spent on programs
- 52%
- Reserves
- 8.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 88%
- Employees
- 5
- Highest pay
- $98,639, executive dir.
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: 79 out of 100. Higher than 53% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 8.4 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 4% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 119% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1552% 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
Weak: 38 out of 100. Higher than 2% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
5 of 250 of 8 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
0 of 15Reports no written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no 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
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
Independent check of accounts
0 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed 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 (4)
- $316,906 spent. Resiliency Hubs: NCCJC advanced climate justice organizing through its five regional Resiliency Organizing Hubs, which convened monthly in-person and statewide virtual sessions, as well as quarterly leadership retreats. Hub programming prioritized strategic alignment, healing justice practices, and nonviolent civil defense in response to intensifying political pressures on frontline communities. The organization launched its inaugural year-long Winning the World We Want Apprenticeship (W4A) program, through which 20 BIPOC emerging organizers completed training across three tracks: energy justice organizing, food justice organizing, and cooperative business development. NCCJC also facilitated national training partnerships with Yes!, Native Movement, Climate Justice Alliance, and the Southeast Climate and Energy Network (SCEN), sharing its Resiliency Organizing Hub model and 4Rs of Social Transformation framework. The organization co-organized and co-facilitated the 7th Healing Our Movement Ecosystem Jam, a week-long convening for 25 environmental and climate leaders from across the United States.
- $149,828 spent. Tap Root: NCCJC rooted its statewide power-building work in arts and cultural strategy. The organization organized its second TapRoot Arts Residency, welcoming 15 BIPOC artists ("artivists") into a year-long program that generates art to catalyze climate justice movement building. The residency launched with a five-day immersion at Lake Logan and produced original work marking the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene. NCCJC launched its inaugural 4Rs Indie Film Festival, selecting 7 winners from 25 submissions on the theme of just and regenerative futures; films were showcased through a virtual festival and public discussion. The organization anchored cultural strategy for the NC Environmental Justice People's Hearing: Speak Easy, Speak Free, where youth and elders performed the original multimedia show "Finding Our Balance, and Co-Director Connie Leeper facilitated the Mothers of the Environmental Justice Movement ceremony. NCCJC also organized The Art of Us a five-city cultural arts roadshow across Goldsboro, Durham, Fayetteville, Kinston, and Maxton in partnership with Resiliency Hub anchors and PowerUp NC, featuring more than 15 performers, 300 participants, and free distribution of the newly redesigned Inner Resilience toolkit.
- $93,025 spent. Convenings: NCCJC convened its 7th annual NC Climate Justice Summit in Brown Summit, NC, gathering 250 youth and adults around the theme "Just Recovery for All." The Summit featured more than 30 workshops led by five intergenerational Resiliency Organizing Hub teams, Just Recovery strategy sessions with grassroots leaders from Puerto Rico, the Gulf South, the Mariana Islands, and California, and community-building programming including an open mic night and healing space. NCCJC also organized the inaugural Durham Solar Festival at Lyons Farm Elementary School in partnership with school administration, drawing more than 175 participants. Festival programming featured NCCJC's original interactive performance The Good Fire an allegory about clean energy alongside hands-on solar exhibits, youth competitions including a solar car race and solar oven bake-off, and arts engagement activities. These convenings advanced NCCJC's mission of building community-led pathways to a just energy transition and strengthened connective tissue between frontline communities in eastern and western North Carolina.
- $7,920 spent. Trainings & Facilitations: NCCJC designs and leads customized, interactive, and culturally relevant training informed by the wisdom and experience of our communities. We work with municipalities, non-governmental groups, non-profits, grassroots groups, and statewide networks to embrace climate justice principles and catalyze just action in response to climate change.? Workshops We Offer Free to Community-Based Groups: Beyond Disaster Relief- Strategies for Just Recovery, Intro to Climate Justice & Climate Adaptation Planning, From Bouncing Back to Bouncing Forward: Resilience Skills for Personal, Communal & Ecological Well-being, Igniting the Regenerative Economy
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 September 7, 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 September 30, 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 September 10, 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 September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since August 2022.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 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 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.