Environmental Defense Action Fund
Public records raise at least one point you should look into before giving.
What it says it does
TO ADVOCATE FOR LEGISLATION AND POLICIES THAT PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT.
- Income
- $24.6 million
- Spending
- $25.2 million
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 3,010
- Highest pay
- $1.2 million, executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. How we rate
Financial health
We do not score finances when yearly spending is very small or the return has too little detail. The ratios stop meaning much at that size.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. How we rate
Governance
This return does not answer enough of the governance questions to score.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. 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)
- $16.3 million spent. Stabilize the Climate through Advocacy - EDF Action worked to defend federal clean energy and clean transportation tax incentives enacted as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Through a coordinated advocacy effort, EDF Action collaborated with a broad range of stakeholders across the clean energy and transportation sectors, including national trade associations, individual companies, and environmental nonprofit partners. This work engaged both business and community voices to communicate the economic, consumer, and industry impacts of the tax incentives. EDF Action conducted public opinion research, developed policy and legal analysis, and supported earned and paid media efforts in key states to inform policymakers and the public about the consequences of repealing or weakening these incentives. The organization facilitated grassroots engagement, generating tens of thousands of constituent messages to Members of Congress and leveraged in-house expertise to analyze the impacts on domestic manufacturing, the auto industry, and consumer choice. Following congressional consideration of legislation affecting these programs, EDF Action supported paid communications and public education efforts in targeted states and districts to raise awareness of the potential economic and consumer impacts. (Expenses $ 3,830,839 including grants of $ 109,809)(Revenue $ 0) OTHER PROGRAM SERVICE EXPENSES
- $2.1 million spent. Advancing State Policy Goals - Across the country, durable environmental progress is built state by state. EDF Action's State Affairs program operates in 10 states representing 40% of the U.S. population - including the nation's top oil- and gas-producing states - turning policy ideas into real-world solutions that cut pollution, lower costs, and strengthen communities. In California, EDF Action advanced two landmark climate laws. The organization played a central role in advancing legislation enabling California to join a West-wide electricity market that will deliver cheaper, cleaner power and improved reliability. It also helped secure reauthorization of the state's "Cap and Invest" program, extending it through 2045 and aligning it with California's climate targets. Through lobbying, media engagement, paid outreach, and coalition building, EDF Action overcame legislative obstacles and secured bipartisan support. In Texas, EDF Action achieved meaningful wins in the nation's largest oil- and gas-producing state. The team advanced limits on how long inactive wells can remain unplugged, addressing pollution risks. It also helped pass groundwater science funding and dedicated water infrastructure legislation, later approved by voters by a wide margin - marking the largest water investment in Texas history. In Colorado, EDF Action helped extend clean electricity standards toward 100% by 2040 and secure nation-leading methane and air toxics protections. In Nevada, the organization helped pass bipartisan legislation strengthening the state's clean energy fund. In Arizona, EDF Action advanced water security reforms and supported bipartisan "Ag-to-Urban" legislation to conserve groundwater. Across states from Florida to Virginia, EDF Action continues building bipartisan coalitions to advance resilience, clean energy, and community-centered climate solutions - ensuring continued progress even amid federal uncertainty.
- $1.0 million spent. Strengthen People's and Nature's Ability to Thrive through Advocacy - In fisheries and aquaculture, EDF Action played a vital role in educating the public and policymakers about the economic and environmental benefits of sustainable aquaculture alongside healthy, well-managed fisheries. Our work highlighted how smart seafood policy can create jobs, strengthen food security, and support coastal communities while minimizing environmental risks. EDF Action helped build congressional support for protecting National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) from ongoing agency and staffing cuts, and for securing appropriations levels that allow NMFS to carry out its core fishery-management responsibilities. We partnered with coastal community leaders and fishermen to elevate policy solutions that promote sustainable and resilient fisheries, a responsive NMFS, and the regulatory stability on which the domestic seafood supply depends. Through sustained media outreach, legislative engagement, and coalition-building, EDF Action elevated sustainable aquaculture in federal policy discussions and advanced the bipartisan MARA Act as a new consensus framework. By strengthening relationships with congressional leaders, industry stakeholders, and environmental advocates, we reinforced the need for a science-based, community-informed approach to offshore aquaculture and federal fisheries management in the United States. In agriculture, EDF Action advocated for the inclusion of Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, permanently expanding USDA conservation programs. This action represents roughly a $35 billion increase in conservation investments over the next two decades. The outcome followed years of engagement with Republican lawmakers to preserve these funds rather than rescind or reallocate them to non-environmental priorities, and it represented a critical policy win in the tax and spending reconciliation bill. In addition to this permanent expansion, EDF Action worked with partners to submit comments to the MAHA Commission. That engagement helped shape USDA's recently announced regenerative agriculture initiative - a pilot program prioritizing conservation practices that improve soil health, water quality, and nutrition outcomes. (Expenses $ 3,830,839 including grants of $ 109,809)(Revenue $ 0) OTHER PROGRAM SERVICE EXPENSES
- $3.8 million spent. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICE EXPENSES
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. 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)(4) social welfare 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 November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Caution.
The IRS master file records contributions to this 501(c)(4) social welfare organization as not deductible.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, 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 September 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 September 2003.
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 November 4, 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.